


The Ol' Switchero

by Lk_Xiom



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Del is protective, Everyone adopts 2D, Everyone hates Paula, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Murdoc is only a little bit of a dick, Noodle is a badass, Role Reversal, Russel is a soft boi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23674762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lk_Xiom/pseuds/Lk_Xiom
Summary: Through a crazy series of events, Noodle is on the run with her bandmates. Russel, the man she ran over with her car and put into a coma, Del, the ghost who lives in Russel's head, Murdoc, a Satanist Russel kidnapped in revenge for sleeping with his girlfriend, and 2D, an eight year old who popped out of a box.Hang on, let me go back and explain what happened.
Relationships: Paula Cracker / Russel Hobbs, Paula Cracker/Murdoc Niccals
Comments: 14
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Something different](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11255481) by [Godsavethequeenbee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Godsavethequeenbee/pseuds/Godsavethequeenbee). 



Inspired by another fic, check it out

* * *

Noodle sighed, scraping the coins from her guitar case, counting them before shoving them into her pocket. Less than twenty bucks. This was not worth standing at the edge of a curb all day. 

Loan sharks breathing down her neck, rent overdue, and the only people answering her ad looking for bandmates are old, creepy, weeabo neckbeards. And anywhere she applied for a job, she was turned away, due to, and I quote, "No one knows what the fuck you're saying, luv,". She wasn't fluent in English, she still had quite a thick accent and tended to leave out a particle here or there, but she knew enough to get by.

It was already past nine o'clock, most of the shops around her were closed, save for a few shopping centres, and pubs. She latched the lid closed on her guitar, making way to her parked car. She yawned. She debated on whether or not to grab a coffee. Probably be best she does, though she knew she would only be awake late, and mess up her sleep schedule. Plopping the guitar in the boot, she slammed it closed with a shake off the head. Nah, she won't get a coffee. It'll only be worse in the long run. 

Yawning again, she rounded the front of the car, and groaned at seeing three, pink, parking tickets on her windscreen. Great. More things to pay off. She tore the tickets of her windscreen and slid into the drivers seat. As she drove home, she ran through a list of her personal belongings that she could sell. The most expensive thing she owned was her phone and her guitar, both of which she needed, desperately. She could con some of the men who had been calling her, she knew how to fight if things went wrong. Might as well make some profit off of them since they were bugging her. Though she didn't particularly fancy meeting any of them face to face. 

Metallic screeching and a smack on her forehead woke her up. Noodle cried out, glass from her broken windscreen cutting into her cheeks. She groaned, and looked around. Her car was on it's passenger side, her windscreen was in bits and from what she see of the bonnet, it was ruined. The rubbish that had slowly been collected in her car was now overturned and strewn about. Noodle herself was only hanging on by her seatbelt. She shifted in the seat, letting her thoughts slowly come back to herself. 

She must have fallen asleep at the wheel. Fuck. She swallowed. "Hello?" She called, her tongue naturally rolling the L sounds. "Hello? Can any body hear me?" 

When she got no response, Noodle shifted her body around, ignoring the dull ache in her ribs. After giving herself a quick check, she concluded that the worst of her injuries were bruises and the cut in her cheek. So, she twisted, bracing her feet against the part of the car on the ground, and unbuckled the belt. She dropped to her feet and stood up straight. She had to bend her knees ever so slightly in order to stand, but managed to pop open the car door above her. Hoisting herself up, Noodle climbed out of the car to see that she had crashed through the front window of a store. 

"Kuso," She whispered to herself. "Kuso, kuso," 

She spotted a pair legs from behind her car. Screaming a string of Japanese curses, Noodle rushed to the man's side. 

The man was as broad as he was tall, black and bald, wearing a simple band t-shirt, jeans, and a yellow hat that had fallen off to the side. His eyes were closed, and he was bleeding from the head. Noodle dug into her pockets to look for her phone, which thankfully, hadn't fallen out of her pocket. 

The man's name was Russel, Noodle later found out. The accident had left the man in a 'catatonic state', and Noodle had never felt so guilty in all her life. This was just an innocent man, whose life she had ruined, potentially killed, out of fear of staying awake to late. 

It was Russel's girlfriend, a woman by the name of Paula Cracker, who had pressed charges against Noodle. Since it was her first offence, and it was an accident, she was sentenced to 1,000 hours of community service, to be carried out by looking after the catatonic man. Noodle was not only overjoyed to be given such a light sentence, but also that she was given one where she could at least try to condone for the accident. 

Paula didn't seem to care all that much, when Noodle showed up on her first day. She was given work from 8 a.m to 6 p.m, as Paula worked 9-5 as a waiter. This worked out at Noodle working 10 hours of her service a day. So, 100 days. That should be fine. 

Well. The benefits of this, she spent most of her time in someone else's house, so her electric bill was way down. Her time with Russel was quite fulfilling. Noodle was stronger than she looked, and was more than capable of carrying him where he needed to go, and she couldn't help but feel a bond with the man, from having to care for him. She would talk to him, knowing he couldn't hear, but it was nice to practice her English without anyone there to judge her for her accent. She played guitar for him, or when she wasn't in the mood, she would play some of his cd's, and just chill. He had good taste. 

Most of the issue's were from Paula, actually. Noodle got along with the woman well enough, they had similar taste in music, and Paula liked her guitar too. However, the woman tended to treat Noodle like a maid, ordering her to make breakfast before she left for work and dinner when she came home. Which, since she had a tendency to go out drinking afterward, could be anytime. And Noodle had to rely on Paula for a lift home, since her licence was revoked and she couldn't afford a taxi. 

The 37th day, Noodle was cleaning the dishes when she received a call from Paula. "Mosh- Hello," She corrected herself. 

"Oh, hi-hiya Noody," Paula said, clearly drunk. "Listen, I'm, I'm gonna be spendin' de night at a mates, yeah," 

"Eh? What?" Noodle said. "I need to go home," 

"You can stay at Russ' if you wanna," Paula slurred. She broke away from the phone to giggle, some man chuckling beside her before she came back. "Is jus' for de nigh', I swear. You'll be fine luv, don' worry," 

She heard the man talking to her, but couldn't make out what he was saying. 

She didn't need to. "Be safe," Noodle growled and hung up the phone. She sighed and sat at the kitchen table, where Russel was sat on the other end. 

"Am sorry, Russu," Noodle said. "I sink Paura is being, a... with someone else," She gave him a grim smile. 

Paula came home the next morning, reeking of vodka. Noodle grimaced as Paula stumbled over to her. "Do 's a favor luv, stick some eggs on will ya?" 

Noodle did as she was told while Paula staggered to Russel's room. "Heya baby, 'ow are you, eh?"

Noodle cracked her neck. 

Paula came back out, rubbing her fist in her eye. "I'm gonna kip in de spare room for a bit, then when your day is ova', I should be right enough to drive ya home," 

"Sank you," Noodle nodded. 

"Bring 's in those eggs when they're ready, yeah?"

"Yeah," Noodle growled. 

Paula might as well not have been there, for after Noodle delivered her the plate of eggs, she slept the rest of the day. Noodle decided to leave Russel in his room, only moving him onto a chair to prevent bedsores. 

"You're pretty good with him, ain't ya?" Said a voice. Noodle looked around to see a ghostly figure standing behind her. Her eyes widened slightly, but other than that, she didn't react. 

The ghost laughed. "Y'know I usually get a lot more screaming when I pop out, so, kudos for not being scared," 

"Why be scared?" Noodle retorted. "You are ghost, yes?" 

"Woah, okay, you sure don't sugar coat things," The ghost said, shoving his hands in his back pockets. The ghost wasn't anything really absurd. He looked like a normal guy, the only thing that gave him any sort of unique identifier being the yellow hat that Russel had. "The name's Del," The ghost said. 

"My name Noodle," Noodle nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah I know your name Noodle," Del said, folding his arms. "I hear you, y'know. Russel don't, he don't hear you when you play but I do," 

"When I play?" Noodle said, doing a strumming motion.

"Yeah, yeah, when you play. You're pretty good. I like you. I don't say that a lot,"

"You are friend of Russu?" Noodle asked. 

Del nodded. "Yeah I'm a friend of Russ. Long time friends we are, man. He's a good man. I'm glad you're looking after him," 

"Sank you," Noodle said. "You haunt him?"

Del cocked his head. 

"Ha'd question," Noodle nodded. "Don't answer. Sorry I ask," 

Del watched as Noodle started to feed Russel some soup. It was hard to feed him anything else, considering he won't chew. He does swallow, though, as a reaction, Noodle assumed. 

"Do you think he'll wake up?" Del asked. 

"What?" 

"Do you think Russel will wake up?" Del said again. "Soon? At all?" 

Noodle hesitated. "I not know. I hope yes," 

Del nodded, and waited for Noodle to finish feeding Russel. When she did, she cleaned up anything that had spilled, and changed his t-shirt. She checked her watch, and then moved Russel to lay back onto his bed. 

"I must go home now," Noodle said. "Bye Del," 

Del simply nodded when Noodle left to room to fetch Paula. She was cranky, but she agreed to drive Noodle home. 

Noodle sat still in the passenger seat, Paula rubbing her head with one hand, other hand lazily on the wheel. "When do you get your licence back?" She asked. 

"Six months," Noodle replied. Paula scoffed and tossed her head back. 

"Bunch of bullshit, dat is. I mean, it's not like you were doin' it on purpose, were ya?" 

Noodle side-eyed the woman who had pressed charges against her in court. "No. No it was an accident," 

Paula nodded. 

Noodle scratched at her jeans. Don't say anything. Don't say a thing. It's none of your business. Nothing to do with you. Don't say any-

"Who was the friend you stay with last night?" Noodle asked. 

Paula shrugged. "Was a mate. Why?" 

"Uh, a no reason. I just hope you are safe," Noodle said. "He was, a man, your friend?"

"Wha', girls can't have male mates yeah?" Paula shouted. 

"No no, that not what I mean," Noodle said. "I am, uh, curios," Noodle nodded. "Yeah, yeah I sink that, uh, I would like more friends. I don't have any friends," 

Paula ground her teeth together, and pursed her lips. "You know what, Noody?"

Noodle really hated that nickname. 

"'Ow about, you come and live wi' Russ an me?" Paula suggested, which really threw Noodle for a loop. "For a little bit. Dat way, I dun have ta' keep drivin' you 'ome, and you can clock up your communi'y service faster, can't ya? We got de spare bedroom. Ye can stay dere all you want," Paula shrugged. "Since you wanna be friends an' all," 

Noodle squinted at her. It seemed to be a win-win situation with Paula. Not only does she get Noodle out of her hair faster, but if she has Noodle to look after Russel longer, she can stay out drinking and cheating longer. 

And oh, no, Noodle was not going to give her the satisfaction. 

"Sank you, that is very kind, but I am very happy living by myself," Noodle nodded. 

"Jus' sayin'," Paula shrugged. "Would be easier on all of us, don't ya think?"

Noodle chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I sink that what we are doing now is working fine," Noodle smiled thinly. 

Paula sighed, clearly irritated. "Suit yerself," 

They drove into one of the parking spots outside of the apartment building. Noodle gave her thanks before leaving the car. As soon as Paula was out of sight, Noodle blew a raspberry in frustration. She began cursing and mumbling to herself in Japanese about what an absolute cunt Paula was, until she stopped right outside her door. 

A large eviction notice was plastered on the door of her apartment. She had two weeks to leave. 

Noodle smacked her forehead against the door with a frustration sob. "I hate everything," She said, letting herself into her apartment. 

The next day, she informed Paula about the eviction. Paula was more than happy to discuss Noodle moving in, over the large breakfast Noodle had prepared. 

"Don' worry," Paula said through a large mouthful of toast. "I'll let yer Probation worker know yer workin' more hours," 

"Sank you," Noodle said with a grimace. She put her chin in her hand. She knew it wasn't her place, and she would only be making things worse by intervening, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what happened to Russel now. 

Well. It's not like she had any evidence that Paula had cheated. Aside from the woman's behavior. But, Noodle was no behavioral analyst, and so didn't constitute Paula's actions as evidence. 

No. No, Noodle would not jump to conclusions. Not when this woman stood between her and homelessness. 

Paula left for work, and Noodle finished up her food. She went to Russel's bedroom, opening the curtains. 

"Morning Del," She said. 

Del, who was standing by the bed, gave a nod in reply. Noodle began picking up the dirty clothes from the floor, and throwing them in a hamper. Del scoffed and shook his head. "You really aren't scared of me, are you?" 

"Nope," Noodle said. She picked Russel off the bed, throwing him over her shoulder. 

"Okay, that might be why," Del whispered to himself. 

Noodle laughed and put Russel down into a wheelchair. "I seen ghost before, Del," 

"Ah man, you have?" Del questioned, with a crooked eyebrow. 

Noodle nodded, wheeling Russel out to the kitchen. "Many times," 

Del gave a small smirk. "You're an exorcist," He said. 

"Nope," Noodle said. She parked Russel at the table and Del frowned. "Have done uh... exor... have gotten rid of ghosts, but not, a... not my job," 

"So you just do it for fun," Del scoffed. 

"Nope," Noodle started to cook some soup. "Only do when have to," 

There was a long silence, before Del spoke again. "Will you exorcise me?" 

"Nope," Noodle said, tasting the soup. 

"Why not?"

"You not hurting anyone," She shrugged. "Not evil ghost," 

Del fell silent again. 

It was pretty okay, the next couple of weeks, living with Paula, Russel and Del. Del didn't like Paula, so he never showed up when Paula was around. She knew about him, but didn't know he was possessing Russel. He didn't want her to know. 

He provided idle conversation for Noodle as she worked. He told her that while Russel can't necessarily hear her, he was conscious enough to feel the rhythm of her guitar. So she would play for the two of them, sometimes Del sang along with her. He wasn't really one for slow, lyrical songs. "Rapper in life, rapper in death," He said. 

"When I sing, in Japanese," Noodle said one day, tuning her guitar. "I think I am very pretty. But singing in English is hard. Very hard. I don't like my English singing," 

Del shrugged. "You don't sound too bad to me," 

"You sink I could be read singer?"

"Lead?" Del repeated. "Oh, uh, well-"

"See?" Noodle nodded. "I rather not," 

"So you wanna be in a band, huh?" Del said. 

"Ye, very much so," 

"You know Russel plays the drums, yeah?" Del said. "Not to be too forward or nothing man, but I think you'd sound great together," 

Noodle sighed, and looked over to where Russel was snuggled against the cushions on the couch. "I wish I had met Russu before crash. Maybe we could be friends?" 

"I think you would've," Del said solemnly. 

Noodle chuckled at him. "Why so long face?" 

Del cocked his head at Noodle. "You think you can do me a favour?"

"Of course," 

"Exorcise me," 

Noodle looked up at him with a dropped jaw. "Eh, what?"

"Exorcise me," Del shrugged. 

Noodle scoffed and shook her head. "You silly man. Why you want that?"

"Russel was in a coma before, you know," Del said. "When he was in highschool, he got possessed by some demons. I wasn't there, but he told me about it. That's some fucked up shit man, for real? Real ass demons. He didn't wake up until they got exorcised from his body," 

Noodle rolled her fingers over her guitar strings. "And now, you sink that if I get rid of you, he will wake up?"

Del looked over at Russel. "I mean. If it'll help. That's what woke him up the first time, right?" 

"First time, demon put him in coma," Noodle explained. "This time, I did. You going away will not help," She nodded. "I know," 

When Noodle looked back up at Del, he was still staring at Russel. "How long you got left in your service?" 

"Ress than 400," Noodle replied. "Three weeks," 

"Make a deal with me," Del said. "Can't shake your hand coz it'll go right through me, but make a deal with me, yeah? Last day of your service, if Russel ain't awake, then you exorcise me. Deal?"

"Nope," 

"Come on man!" Del yelled. "This ain't life I got going on here! I can't leave this house unless I'm with Russel, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I'm _fucking dead!_ And I used to have Russel to talk to but now look at him! He's my friend, why won't you let me help him?"

"Killing you is not help," Noodle replied sharply. "The way you talk about Russu, tell me he is not over your death. What happen if I kill you, and Russu wake up and you gone? That not help him," 

"So what? You think it's better for him to just sit there and rot away, huh?" Del argued. "You'd rather a dead guy wander a few feet than let Russel live?" 

"You are not evil ghost Del," Noodle said. "Will not kill you," 

Del stilled. Noodle looked up at him. His expression was hard to read. His eyes were half lidded, and his upper lip curled slightly. "Not evil, yeah?" Del said. "Not evil? So you're saying, if I were evil, you'd have to get rid of me?" 

He leaned down until his face was inches away from Noodles unflinching eyes. "If I were to try and kill you.... you'd have no choice then... would ya?" 


	2. Chapter 2

"You'd have no choice then... would ya?"

Noodle stared back at Del. The hardness in his eyes carried through on the ghostly form, the grit of his teeth and the determination seeped through.

Del wasn't joking.

Neither was Noodle.

"I don't care," Noodle said. "You try kill me, I won't fight,"

Del drew back slightly. "Don't even joke about that, man,"

"Am not," Noodle said.

Del grit his teeth so hard, Noodle thought the could hear them crack. "What the FUCK do I have to do to get you to FUCKING HELP ME-"

Del was interrupted by being pulled back into Russel's head, and Russel surging forward with a gasp.

Noodle stared wide eyed for a couple seconds before jumping to her feet. "Oh my god,"

Russel looked over at her with wide eyes.

Noodle waved. "Hello. My name Noodle,"

Russel's eyebrows furrowed. He looked around the room, and blinked. "What... hang on, who are you and why are you in my apartment?"

"Um, my name Noodle," Noodle said. "And you were in a car accident,"

"Car accident?" Russel asked. He groaned and rubbed his head.

"I need to get you to hospital," Noodle said. "You, ah... you have been in a coma, and I need a doctor to-"

"A coma?" Russel said. "You- did you just say coma!?"

Noodle nodded. "Am so sorry Russu. Yeah, coma has been, uh, two months,"

"Two months!?" Russel cried. "I've been in a coma for two months!?"

"Yes, and now we get you to doctor, okay?" Noodle said.

"Who are you!?"

"My name Noodle,"

"Yeah I know your name Noodle," Russel yelled. "But why are you in my apartment?"

"Oh, I have been caring for you," Noodle said.

Russel seemed to immediately loose any fight he had in him, and his eyebrows turned upwards. "Oh. Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you were..."

Russel stood up, only to stumble on his feet slightly. Noodle rushed over to help steady him.

"Please, still easy. I will ring Paura, and she will drive us to Doctor, okay?"

Russel sat back down on the couch and rubbed his head. He noticed his hat tossed on the side of the couch. He picked it up and put it on his head.

"Hello, Paura?" Noodle said. "It's Noodle,"

"Oh hiya Noodle, I'm a' work can ya call la'er?"

"It's Russu," Noodle said. "He's awake,"

"You what?"

"Russu awake now. We need you to come drive to hospital,"

"Why? If he's awake den dats a good ting, yeah?"

"It's important," Noodle insisted.

Paula groaned. "Look I can' leave work jus' coz Russel woke up from a coma, yeah? Boss won't go fer dat,"

"Yes he will," Noodle said. "If not then you have shit boss,"

"Well I mean, I do," Paula laughed. "Bu' eh, nah I can' really leave, why can' you take him? I left de car dere,"

"How you go work if car here?"

"I walked," Paula growled.

Noodle stuck her tongue to her cheek and bit down on her tongue. "I have no ricence Paura,"

"So don' get caught den!" With that, Paula hung up the phone.

Noodle growled. "Um, okay. Paura can't come home,"

"Can you drive then?" Russel asked.

Noodle hesitated. "Yeah, okay I drive. Less go,"

The two piled into the car. "So um, Noodle right?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you from?"

"Japan, originally," Noodle said. "But I have traveled a lot,"

"Where are you living now?"

"Was living in apartment in the Ashview area, but I was um, behind on pay, so I was kicked out. Paura ask me to live wiss you,"

"So you been living in my house?" Russel said.

"Uh, yes," Noodle nodded. "Just a few weeks only,"

"I'm sorry you were kicked out," Russel said. "It ain't right, to kick out a nurse,"

"Oh, I am not nurse," Noodle said. "No, I just look after you,"

"You're... what? If you're not a nurse then why are you looking after me!?"

Noodle gave Russel a side glance. "It's a... for my community service," She nodded.

Russel stared at Noodle for a long time, and Noodle could feel the tension in the air rising with every passing moment. She kept glancing at Russel, just to check if he was still glaring at her.

"So let me guess," He said eventually. "You told Paula you didn't have a licence,"

Oh crap he heard that.

"And you have community service, to do with looking after me? Who was in a car crash?"

Noodle lowered her head slightly, though kept her eyes on the road. "Yes," She said quietly.

"You were the one driving?"

"...Yes,"

Russel sighed. He turned to look out the car window, and didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride. Without a word to each other, Russel checked himself into the Doctor, and Noodle waited in the car for him to come back. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel.

She smiled at Russel as he made his way back to the car. He slid into the passenger side, and tossed a prescription on the dashboard. "Well, how did it go?" Noodle asked.

"I'm fine," Russel growled. "Have to take that and not drive for a while," He gestured to the prescription.

"Okay," Noodle nodded. "Less go to Pharmashi,"

Noodle started to hum a tune and tap her fingers on the steering wheel as she drove. Russel squinted at her as she did so.

"Have you been playing my CD's?" He asked.

Noodle straightened. "Um. Well, I like the songs as well, so, sometimes,"

Russel scoffed. "Who the hell gave you the right to just go rifling through my things? I mean, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Sometime it was Del who tell me to," Noodle shrugged.

"Del?" Russel said in disbelief. "Sure it was,"

"No it true," Noodle said. "Sometime when it just us in house and Paula in work, Del come out and talk to me," Noodle nodded.

"I don't know who the hell you were talking to," Russel said, his voice dark. "But it wasn't Del. I'm guessing Paula told you about him,"

"No," Noodle said. "No he come talk to me, and he say, like, 'Yeah', and uh, 'Man'-"

Hearing someone talk about Del in the present tense would, rightfully so, cause Russel some distress, and he knew, realistically, that there was a chance this girl did talk to Del. And after everything he had learned today, he had every right to be emotional.

But hearing this sweet, little, Japanese woman do an impression of Del of all people, was the funniest shit Russel had seen in a long time.

"Why you laughing!?" Noodle cried when Russel delved into a laughing fit. "Am serious, he talk like that! Not funny, why are you laughing?"

"It is funny," Russel said.

Noodle parked up beside the pharmacy.

"So you really did meet him then," Russel said, a statement Noodle felt didn't really need conformation on. "He's not usually so talkative to strangers,"

"Yes. He tells me he has not revealed himself to Paura,"

"So why did he talk to you?" He questioned.

"Well..." Noodle said. "He said he liked my..." She swallowed, preparing to say the word as clearly as possible. "Guitar,"

Having somehow managed to pronounce 'Guitar' in the thickest London accent she could muster, Russel again broke into a fit of laughter.

Russel had never expected to like Noodle, especially not after finding out that this was the same woman who had run him over, and put him into a coma, but, he really did grow to like her. Since her community service wasn't complete, Paula suggested that Noodle carry on caring for them, as a maid and a cook.

Despite how demeaning the proposition was, had Noodle refused, she'd have been homeless.

So, Noodle continued to live with the two of them, and since Russel wasn't cleared to work just yet, they had choice but to get to know each other. Del would often come out when Paula left, and urge Noodle to play. He was very eager for Noodle and Russel to jam together, though Russel was the most reluctant.

Though he did admit, there was something... intriguing, about the way Noodle played. Del mentioned it was him recognizing the tune from when he was in a coma.

It takes a lot of energy for Del to come out though. Some days he just needs time to recharge. No one was really sure how Del's ghost energy worked, least of all Del.

One day, when Noodle was finished all of her chores and Del was resting, Russel spotted her at the kitchen table with a newspaper. He frowned.

"What are you doing with that?" He asked.

"Service is almost over," Noodle said. "I will move out soon, yeah? So I'm look for job,"

"Ah," Russel said. "Okay. Um, well you know you're welcome to stay here as long as you like, to get on your feet,"

"Oh, sank you but-" Noodle hesitated. "Sank you,"

Russel pulled out a chair, and sat down. "What was your last job, Noodle?"

"Oh, I had many job," Noodle said. "I uh, was waiter, bartender, work in small shop, all different ones, but eh, not long, because of my English,"

"But, your most recent one," Russel said. "I mean, how did you afford your last place?"

"I uh..." Noodle said. "I was play guitar in street. All of my money I had save from other jobs. I also uh, borrow, money, from friend,"

Russel cocked his head. "I thought you said you didn't have any friends,"

Noodle chuckled. "Oh, no friend here! Japan, I have many friends, no worry," Noodle stood up and folded the newspaper. "Paura almost home. I will start dinner,"

Russel decided not to press the issue anymore, especially since she was right, and Paula would be home soon. When Paula did come home, and the two were alone in Russel's room, Russel brought up letting Noodle stay until she finds a job. Surprisingly, Paula was completely against it.

"You were the one who invited her to live here in the first place," Russel said. "I can't understand you, do you like Noodle or not?"

"It's not a ma'er of whether or not I like her, but the only reason she's here in de first place is because of dat soddin' communi'y service, ain't she? I only invited her so I wouldn' 'ave ta drive her 'ome every night,"

"What is going on with you lately?" Russel said. "I don't know what's going through your head half time, you act like you hate being here, you're always home late and did you ask your boss for more hours? You're working everyday now,"

"Well I bloody need the 'ours if we're gonna be supportin' dat girl now, eh?" Paula retorted.

"She was looking for a job today," Russel said. "And the lease is in my name, remember? We'll be fine when I get the shop back open,"

Paula scoffed. "Oh I'm sorry, I guess I forgo', guess you two became closer dan I thou', what wi' her lookin' afta' ya all de time now,"

Russel reared back. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh noffin', jus' that you seem to be real 'appy now dat she's around, y'know? And you two are always home together-"

"We can't leave!" Russel cried. "I can't believe you would accuse me of cheating on you? You really think I would that?"

Paula tapped her foot on the floor, and her sneer dropped. "Nah. Nah I know you wouldn' do tha'. I'm sorry love, guess I jus' got paranoid,"

"I'm sorry for yelling," Russel said, sitting down on the bed. "I thought you'd be happy about her staying though. I thought you two actually got along when I was out?"

"Eh, we did, sorta'," Paula shrugged. "She nice enough I s'pose. Jus' think she's little bit fishy, y'know? I mean, 'ow can we trust her?"

Del is a good judge of character, Russel thought. If he liked her, he trusted Del's opinion.

He couldn't really tell Paula that though, could he?

"I'm just being nice," Russel said. "Paying her back for looking after me,"

"Her lookin' afta' ya was s'posed to be her payin' you back for 'ittin' you in de head with her car,"

Okay, Paula had a point there.

"So you want me to just toss her on the street?" Russel said.

Paula sighed. "Noooo, I guess not,"

Less than a week before Noodle's service was up, Russel was cleared to return to work. "Grab your coat," He announced, as Noodle was placing a prepared meal into the fridge.

"Eh? Where we going?"

"I'm taking you to work," Russel slid his coat on. "The window's been replaced, but there's still some bits need fixing up. You supposed to be helping, right? And besides, if I stay in this house any longer I'm going to crack up. So come on, let's go,"

Noodle couldn't help but feel nervous when Russel parked the car behind the very shop that she had ruined. She refused to let it show, and the irony of the situation didn't seem to register to Russel.

The two set to work on setting up the shop. The window replaced, the glass on the door too, and any glass had been swept up, but other than that, the shop was a mess. Any CD's and records that had been destroyed in the crash were replaced with insurance, and were said to arrive today.

"Is this good business?" Noodle said, organizing the CD's.

"Easy enough, makes decent cash," Russel said as he sorted the register. "Usually drum for a little bit when waiting for a customer,"

"Oh, should have said," Noodle said. "I would have brought guitar,"

Russel chuckled. "I got some in the back, ones for sale, y'know. You could play with them if you want to,"

"Will you play too?" Noodle asked.

Russel rolled his head on his shoulders. "I usually don't play with others,"

"Oh come on man!" Del said suddenly, shooting out from behind Russel. "You know you waaaaant toooo~

"Del! What if someone's sees you?" Russel yelped.

"Oh come on man, no one's out yet," Del said. "You haven't played since you woke up y'know. You gotta practice,"

Russel mulled it over. It had been a while since he played, and he did feel the itch in his hands to get back at the drum set.

He couldn't help but grin. "Yeah you right, I do wanna play,"

Del cheered and bounced around in a hype while Noodle simply smiled. The two (three?) musicians moved to the backroom, and Russel fetched a guitar for Noodle to use. Out of pure habit, Noodle started fiddling with the pegs.

"You ever play blur?" Russel asked, absentmindedly brushing the dust off the drum kit that had clearly never moved from it's spot.

"Ooh, yeah, classic!" Del said.

"Have, yes," Noodle said. "Know lots of blur songs,"

Russel sat down and immediately began tapping out the beat to Girls And Boys. Noodle picked up on the familiar tune and strummed along. The lyrics weren't really Del's type of thing, so he decided to instead fill the vocal void with conversation.

"How long you been wanting to form a band for, Noods?" He asked.

"Oh, long time," Noodle said. "Since child I always play guitar, and after I learn the uh, small piano?"

"Keyboard?"

"Keyboard, yes thank you! I learn keyboard when I about, fourteen?"

"So you've been playing for a really long time," Del nodded. "You play anything else?"

"I play uh, a mouth one, a, haaamonika,"

"The harmonica?"

"Yes, haaamonika," Noodle smiled. "I learn that later. But I always play guitar, it my favourite,"

"Who taught you?" Del asked.

"Me," She replied. "I... was not allowed. I taught myself in secret,"

"You parents wouldn't let you learn guitar?" Russel asked, stopping his drumming suddenly.

Noodle slowed to a gentle strum. "...no," She stopped, gently rubbing her fingers along the strings before looking up at Russel. "I not have parents. I was raised with many brothers and sisters, in house for lonely children. Or-orphan house? Very strict. Yah... very strict," Her pink painted nail gently tapped the side of the guitar.

"Ey, yo, y'know," Del said, breaking the tension. "Your skill is sick as hell though,"

"Hm?"

"Oh nah, that means good!" Del chuckled. "It means I think you're good, sick is like, y'know, like _sick_ , y'know?"

"Oh, yah I think I get it," Noodle said. "Like uh, srang?"

"Yeah, yeah," Del nodded.

Russel stood, and placed his drum sticks down.

"You want to stop?"

Russel gave a gentle nod in reply. "Yeah, yeah we should finish opening up the shop,"

Needless to say, for the rest of Noodle's community service, Russel asked her to help out with the shop. She was hard working, almost never sat down unless they had a quiet day and Russel coached her to play. Otherwise, if there was no work to do, she would busk outside the shop for some petty change. Every little helped.

When her community service was up, Russel officially offered her a part time at the shop, which she gladly accepted with a hug. She was still searching for another job, since she wasn't actually bringing in any extra income aside from her busking.

Things with Paula had settled down too, as she suddenly announced out of the blue that she wanted to learn how to play bass. "I see the way you two are always playin' together in de shop, and I wanna join in, y'know?"

Noodle of course, loved the idea, and though she didn't know bass herself, she was more than happy to help teach Paula how to play. Though Russel squashed any idea Noodle had of forming a band with them, she still thought she could convince him, eventually. Paula had even said that she was getting lessons from a local legend, Murdoc Niccals. He owned a music shop too, and was apparently renowned for his bass skills, and apparently refused to teach anyone.

"'cept for me," Paula had said. "He thinks I could really be something, apparently,"

It certainly explained why she was over at his place a lot. Russel wanted to trust her. Noodle not so much, but Russel wouldn't let his mind go there.

One day, Noodle was busking outside the shop and Russel was at his computer, registering a new batch of CD's from a semi-popular bands new release. They were popular enough that Russel expected a boom in sales.

Suddenly, Noodle rushed inside in a blind panic, leaping over the counter, knocking over all of the CD's and other bits, slamming the door of the back storage behind. Russel sputtered in bewilderment, trying to catch as many falling CD's as he could.  
"I'm not here!" Noodle cried.

Russel's eyes furrowed, and he was about to ask her what the fuck was going through her head, when the bell of the front door rang.

Pieces all fell into place for Russel. The man was of average height, black hair slicked back with gel, silver earrings, and to the untrained eye, a very expensive suit. Russel knew clothes though, he knew what dine tailoring was, and this was just a cheap imitation meant to impress. The man subtly looked around the shop, feigning interest in some of the CD's and DVD's Russel had on display. "You eh," The man said. "You seen that Asian Bird what was out playing?"

Russel cleared his throat, deliberately trying to make his accent as thick and voice as deep as possible. "What about her?"

"Just wondering if you seen her," The man replied. "She's my girlfriend, and we're supposed to go on a date. Dinner, fancy place," He nodded with a shrug. "It's our anniversary. She usually plays out there, don't she? Thought I saw her there a minute ago, and she came running inside,"

Russel shook his head. "Nah man, she went round the corner. First time I ever seen her here though. She's not a regular,"

The man pursed his lips and nodded. "I see, I see," He sauntered over to the counter. "Tell you what," He fished out his wallet, flaunting a wad of cash. "If you see her around here again, will you tell her Cillian's looking for her? Thanks mate,"

The man placed five twenty pound notes on the counter, before giving Russel a curt nod, and leaving the shop. Russel waited a solid five minutes, just in case the man decided to wait around for a bit, before he opened up the storage room door. Noodle was sat on a crate, her head hung low and her nails picking at her leather skirt.

"Let me guess," Russel said. "Your friend you owe money too?"

Noodle looked up at him and nodded. "I forgot about him. He not have my phone number, but he know where I used to live. Since I live with you, I thought it would be hard for him to find me," She looked back down at her feet. "I know I could not avoid forever but... I need more time,"

"I know he won't give you it," Russel said. Noodle nodded in agreement.

"How much do you owe him?"

"Five thousand,"

" _Five grand!?_ " Russel said. He growled and rubbed his face. "How?"

"I have no money!" Noodle said. "I need rent, and food, travel,"

Russel shook his head. "Look, it's gonna be okay, yeah? I'll help you get the money,"

"No no no!" Noodle said, jumping to her feet. "Please, no, it is my fault, I will sort myself," She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Besides. He is not only man I owe money to,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to introduce Murdoc properly in the next chap, and hopefully 2D too


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so 2D is not here yet, but I might be able to get him introduced by the end of the next chapter

"Sank you for helping be, by the way," Noodle said, as she helped Russel close the shop. 

"'Course. Friends are supposed to look after one another," 

"Like how Del look after you?" 

Russel furrowed his brow at her. "What do you mean?" 

"Well, y'know, how he want to wake you up," Noodle said. 

"I don't know what you're talking about, Noodle,"

Noodle blanched. "Oh. Oh he not tell you, did he?" 

"Tell me what?" He questioned. 

Noodle placed the CD she was holding down onto the crate. She wrung her hands together. "I seen many ghost before. Lots of times, they try to hurt me, so I do ah, exorcise? On them. Day you wake up, just before, me and Del is arguing. He say that, when you were in school, you were possess before," 

Russel visibly stiffened at the mention of this. He couldn't believe Del had told her about that. He never told people about that. It wasn't something he really liked to talk about, and he assumed Del knew that. 

"He tell me," Noodle continued. "That you in coma, when you had demon. And when demon leave, you wake up. He tell me, he want me to exorcise him, so that you wake up," 

Russel's face was always hard to read, as his ghostly white eyes rarely gave any indication of what he was thinking. He never was one for dramatic expressions, and though Noodle had been living with him for a few months, she hadn't quite learned how to read him just yet. Especially when he was clearly feeling an emotion that had no name. Fear, grief, shock, guilt, a mixture of these along with the incredible love he felt for his friend. 

It hurt. 

"I say no, of course," Noodle said. "Because Del, he is kind," 

Russel nodded, turning back to his work, without actually moving to do any work. Del was silent. His voice had been sluggish, so it's possible he was asleep. Russel made a mental note to bring it up with him when he woke up. 

"Should I have not said?" Noodle asked when they were almost finished, having completed packing in silence.

"Nah. It's good you told me. I'd rather people not keep secrets," Russel said.

Noodle nodded solemnly. Some secrets, she thought, should never be told. 

Paula steadily grew better at bass. She knew the basics, and was now able to play a couple of tunes with Noodle and Russel. She often messed up, but she actually seemed to be enjoying herself. 

It all sort of, fell into place after that really. Russel's friends, regulars to his shop, had started getting to know Noodle, and kept asking if she played with Russel. Eventually the two started playing for the friends together, and when Paula was confident enough in her guitar skills, she would play with them too. 

They sounded pretty good. Del ragged on Paula, but she was still learning, so Russel never listened to him. 

Everyone just assumed they had formed a band. Friends told them about open mic nights, amateur gigs they should sign up for, but even Noodle said they weren't ready for that yet. 

No matter what they said though, Russel insisted they weren't a band. It's just for fun, he had told them. Friends hanging out, and nothing more. 

On brighter side of things, Noodle had reached the end of her job search, when she inquired about a Ramen Noodle truck looking for a chef. Having completed a Safe Food course before, all she needed to do was whip up a quick dish for the owner, and he was impressed. 

The one time her being Japanese actually helped her get a job. 

She bounced home with a spring in her step, humming a tune, with a grin plastered on her face. Russel should be home, and she would assume that Paula was either drinking or practicing with the Murdoc guy. 

She couldn't wait to tell Russel the news. 

She opened the door to the apartment, tossed her keys in the bowl by the door, humming and tapping her feet as she pulled off her coat. She hung up her coat, and danced into the open plan kitchen/living room, where a green skinned man was taped to a chair. 

Noodle froze. 

The man looked at her, his mouth taped shut. His nose was bloody, and crushed upwards. He gave a nod in greeting. Noodle rushed to the kitchen to grab a first aid kit.

"Russu!?" She cried. 

Russel appeared from his bedroom doorway, a scowl on his lips. 

"There is a man here," Noodle said, running over to the man.

"You knew, didn't you?" Russel said. 

"Hm? Yeah he right there," 

"No," Russel said. "You knew about Paula. You knew she was cheating, didn't you?" 

Noodle hesitated. "I... I had thought, but, I wasn't sure," 

Russel stepped closer to her, not threatening, angry yes, but not threatening. His eyebrows were turned up, and his lip quivered. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"I wanted to be wrong," Noodle shrugged. "Am sorry Russu. I should have said," 

Noodle turned back to the man, who was glaring at Russel and breathing heavily. "Did you do this?" She said, taking out some wipes. 

"He pissed me off," 

The man in the chair tried to speak through the gag as Noodle attempted to clean him up. Russel glared at him, and the man glared back. In one swift motion, Russel tore the tape of the man's mouth. 

The man groaned in relief, and wriggled his lips around from the freedom. "Oh thank you, that's much better,"

"What were you trying to say?" Russel growled. 

"Oh, right, just wanted to say," He looked at Noodle. "Hello sweetie," He winked. 

Noodle slapped him in the face. The man cried out in pain, and looked back up at Noodle. "Alright, not interested, fair enough," 

"You are man who sleep with Paula?" Noodle said. 

"Oh the Cracker woman?" The man rolled his head along with his eyes. "You know, Cracker is fitting for, she's fucking bonkers that one," 

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Russel yelled, only to have Noodle yell back incoherently. 

"Russu, calm down, this man is not worth assault for," Noodle said when Russel stopped in his tracks. 

"You just slapped him!" 

"Yeah, well..." Noodle trailed off. 

"Can I say something?" The man said. 

"Who are you?" Noodle asked. 

"Murdoc Niccals, nice to meet you luv," 

Noodle's jaw dropped. "You are Paula's teacher?" 

"Well yeah, but we didn't start out like that!" Murdoc defended. 

"What do you mean?" Russel pressed. "How long has this been going on for?" 

"I don't know," Murdoc shrugged. "I found her in the pub one night crying coz her friend was hit by a car or something and he was in a coma, and that's when it all started," 

Russel glared at the ground beneath Murdoc's feet. Murdoc cringed and wriggled his fingers. 

"Oh, that was you, wasn't it?"

Russel nodded. 

Murdoc pursed his lips and looked at Noodle, who looked just as awkward as he felt. 

"Look, mate," Murdoc said gently. "I didn't know she was seeing anyone. Not that it would have stopped me, but still..." 

Russel snarled at him. 

"I'm jus saying, I think you're directing your anger at the wrong person here," Murdoc said. "I thought I was just shagging a normal bird," 

"Do you want me to hit you again!?" 

"Russu!" Noodle. "Am sorry, but he is right. It is Paula you should be angry with. She betray you. This man did nothing wrong, except be gross," 

"Oi!" Murdoc complained.

A hammering on the door ripped everyone from their argument. 

"Who is it!?" Murdoc called with a grin, only for Russel to slap the tape back onto his mouth and drag the chair towards his room. 

"Noodle, answer the door and don't let anyone know about this," Russel whispered as Murdoc struggled against the restraints. 

"You're making it worse!" Noodle hissed quietly, and Russel shooed her away. With a huff, Noodle opened the door. 

Cillian was leaning his head against the door frame, with three other men standing behind her. He grinned at her. "Hello Noodle. We've been looking for you," 

Damien was a tall, dark skinned man, young with a tight buzzcut. He didn't bother to carry himself with the same false air of dignity as Cillian. Damien wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans, showing off the tattoos that ran down both his arms. 

Noodle owed him eight grand.

Johnboy was a different story. Irish like Cillian, he had dark, shaggy hair that fell down by his chin, and a short goatee. He was actually quite good looking, if you ignored the ragged, weed reeking and urine stained clothes that he wore. 

Noodle owed him twelve. 

The fourth man Noodle didn't recognise. One of the men's lackies, most likely, coming along for muscles. Based on his sheer size, it made sense. 

This is the part of the story where you start listening to London Calling. 

Damien brandished a bat, Johnboy a thick, rusty, copper pipe, and Cillian produced a switchblade from his pocket. 

"Where's our money, Noodle?" Cillian said, pushing her backwards into the apartment. Damien rushed into the kitchen, smashing the bat into the microwave. Johnboy swung at the table by the door, breaking it in two. 

Noodle shrieked, instinctively covering her head when she heard the cracking sounds. The big man cracked his knuckles from behind Cillian. 

"I asked you a fucking question!" Cillian roared, as the other two continued to trash the apartment. 

"Hey!" Russel roared, appearing from his bedroom. "Who the fuck are you, why are you in my apartment!?" 

The big man immediately turned his attention towards blocking Russel. Russel growled and squared his shoulders, staring down the man who no less than a half foot taller, but certainly more muscular. 

"Stay out of it Fatass," Cillian said. "Lest you wanna end up cleaning your own blood off the walls," 

"Who the hell are you?" Russel said. "I'm calling the police," 

Johnboy responded by smashing the landline that had already fallen to the floor, before driving the pipe into Russel's stomach. Russel huffed and curled in on himself slightly, but Johnboy was clearly very weak as it barely did any damage. Russel grabbed the pipe and yanked it from Johnboy, only to be met with the big man's fist flying into his jaw. Russel fell backwards into the wall. 

"Russu!" Noodle cried. Cillian grabbed her by the throat, and pushed her against the wall. 

"I'm not finished with you yet!" Cillian spat. "I've waited long enough for you, you bitch! It's time to cough up!" He pressed the knife to her throat. "It's your choice on whether that's blood or money," 

Another roar of pain from the big man beating Russel made Noodle grit her teeth. 

Grabbing Cillian's wrist, Noodle twisted his arm, making him drop the knife. She drover her elbow into his forearm, hearing a familiar, sickening snap. He screeched, and Noodle bashed her fist into his face twice, before kicking her knee into his chin. Letting go of the wrist, Cillian crumpled to the floor. A bat to the face knocked Noodle to the ground. 

Russel was dragged to his feet by the big man, who had his arm wrapped around Russel's neck. Russel struggled against the big man, the two knocking over photographs, lights, and anything else near them in their grappling. Russel tried to hit his elbow into the man's stomach, punching him in the face, and scraping at the arm around his neck, but to no avail. The big man knew his strength. 

Johnboy picked up the pipe again, forming a batting stance. He swung the pipe, hitting Russel's stomach. He swung again, hitting his chest, his side, his stomach again, as Russel hollered in agony. Finally, Russel lept his two feet in the air, pushing Johnboy into his bedroom door and dropping himself and the big man to the ground. The big man collapsed ontop of him, his thick arm still crushing on Russel's face. 

Russel opened his mouth and chomped. The big man roared and kicked Russel in the side of the head. 

Damien swung the bat down, and Noodle rolled away. She lept to her feet, only for her back to hit the kitchen counter. Damien stormed forward, and Noodle ducked away from the bat again, gripping the plastic kettle and smacking it into Damien's head. Damien threw his head back, and took a couple of steps back. He recovered quickly, but not quick enough to stop Noodle from rushing past him towards the open door. 

Johnboy surged past Russel and the big man, wrapping his arms around Noodle's waist and dragging her back into the apartment. "Don't go yet, pretty baby," 

Noodle growled and kicked her wedge heel into his shin, making him fall and let her go. She was grabbed by Damien, who threw her onto the ground in front of him, her head barely missing the glass coffee table. 

He leered down at her, twirling the bat tauntingly. 

Silently cursing herself for wearing skinny jeans, she lifted her legs up, curling behind her and hooking them under the coffee table. She pulled forward, throwing the table into Damien using her legs. The force smashed the glass and drove Damien to collapse into the fridge. He fell to the ground, blood pouring from his nose. His head sagged, unconscious. 

The next she knew, Johnboy was climbing on top of her, forgoing his pipe for Cillian's knife. Noodle struggled to stop him from slashing at her face. She managed to push him away, and get to her feet. He made a move to charge at her, but she managed to grab him first, and pushed her weight into him. 

She was aiming for the wall. 

He hit the window. 

Having used all of her might, Johnboy smashed through the window and flipped backwards, shrieking. They were too high up to hear the impact, they only heard his voice suddenly being cut off. 

The big man stopped instantly. He stared at Noodle, his arm still wrapped around Russel's neck. Russel was on the ground, on his stomach, the man leaning over him. 

The big man let go of Russel, wide eyed. "You just... you just killed him," 

Noodle gawped back at the big man. She looked down at Russel, who was horrified. 

"You just threw him out the bloody window," The big man said, taking a cautious step away. The big man suddenly hightailed it to the door. "Fuck this!" He screeched. 

Noodle was shaking. "Russu. Russu are you okay?" 

Russel never let his gaze off her as he carefully got to his feet. He nodded. "You?"

Noodle nodded, a little too rapidly. With barely a chance for them to catch their breath, Russel's bedroom door opened, the forgotten kidnapped man stepping out, tape still wrapped around his limps with broken wood jutting from it. Apparently the sound of the fighting had blocked the any noise he had made. 

He grinned smugly and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, well, well, what have we got here?" 

Russel and Noodle didn't even know what to feel right now. Russel chewed his lip, glaring at Murdoc. "You should stay out of this," Russel said, the tremble in his voice betraying any notion of confidence or threat he may have intended. 

"Probably, I mean, this looks very bad," He snickered. "You two look very messed up," 

That much was true. Russel had his arm curled around his stomach, and his jaw was throbbing with pain, he suspected he had a cut on his forehead somewhere. Noodle wasn't much better, her own cheek was already swollen and her lip was busted. 

Not to mention Murdoc still had bits of dried blood on his face from his earlier busted nose. 

"And did I hear someone mention that you threw someone out a window?" 

"What do you want!?" Noodle cried. "Why you threaten us?" 

"I want to help you," Murdoc said. "You want any chance of getting out of this, then you bloody better listen to me," 

Noodle cocked her head at him, her jaw dropped. 

"Right, what we're going to do, is you're going to grab some baby wipes, your makeup, and some hoodies, and we're going to calmly walk down to your car," Murdoc said, pulling the tape off of his wrists. "We're going to do it nice and slow, and you're both going to turn you phones off. Yeah?" 

After a moment of hesitation, Noodle nodded and walked to the bathroom. Murdoc tossed Russel and glance, and Russel made his way to his bedroom. "Why are you helping us?"

"I just am," Murdoc snarled. "Be grateful," 

"What's your plan?" He asked, tossing Murdoc a black hoodie, Noodle a yellow one when she came out of the bathroom. 

"Time is of the essence here, Biggie," Murdoc said, quickly donning the hoodie. "Now, like I said, nice and calm," 

Russel didn't know if he could trust Murdoc, and Noodle didn't have any idea's on how to deal with the situation that would also save Russel, so she had to trust him. The trio walked down the stairs, hoods covering their bloodied faces. 

"You sure this doesn't look suspicious?" Russel asked. "Three hooded figures, leaving right after that?"

"No one's gonna notice us after someone else tore out of the apartment a few minutes ago," Murdoc replied. "I'm guessing he looked just as messed up as you two?" 

The big man did have quite a lot of blood on his shirt when he left. 

They reached the car, Murdoc taking the driver's seat, Noodle the passenger and Russel the back. Driving away from the crowd of people who gathered, Murdoc sighed. 

"Right, clean yourselves up. You're a mess," 

Noodle took out a couple of baby wipes, and handed them back to Russel. "Where are we going?" Noodle asked. 

"Ever heard of Kong Studios?" Murdoc asked. Noodle shook her head, but Russel answered. 

"That old haunted place? Why are you taking us there?" 

"You play drums, don't you?" Murdoc said. "And you guitar?" 

"Yes, why?"

"Coz we are forming a band," 

"You what?" Russel said incredulously. 

"Not a real one!" Murdoc waved him off. "We're only gonna pretend. And we've spent the whole day, scoping out that old music studio, with intentions to buy it. There's no reception, which is why our phones have been off all day. So when the police call, and tell you your place has been trashed, you're going to act all surprised. They invaded your home when you. Weren't. There," 

"You give us alibi?" Noodle said. "After we kidnap you? Why?" 

"First of all, you didn't kidnap me love, that pillock back there did," Murdoc jabbed his thumb behind him. "And because, I'm doing you a favour, and I expect a favour in return," 

"What about Paula?" Russel asked. "What are we going to do about Paula, she's going to come home and find the place trashed, and she doesn't know anything about no band," 

"You say nothing!" Murdoc warned, pointing a sharp fingernail in his direction. "When you see her later you're going to tell her it was a surprise. You say anything now and it's just going to look even more suspicious," 

"More suspicious than not saying anything?" Russel countered. 

"You call Paula, and there will be a time mark on her phone," Noodle said. "Better to not say anything at all," 

Russel stared at Noodle, and Noodle cocked her head. "I know, this is scary, and shocking-" 

"How are you two so calm?" Russel said with a shake of his head. "Noodle you just killed a man!" 

"You are just panicking-" 

"Yes I'm panicking!" Russel screeched. "Of course I'm fucking panicking, how are you _not_ panicking!?" 

Noodle lowered her gaze slightly, and didn't answer. 

"WELL!?" 

"What do you want me to say, Russu!?" Noodle replied. "I am sorry! I didn't mean to throw him out window," 

"It's a small fucking window!" 

"They try to kill us!" Noodle said. "They hurt you Russel, want me to just sit and let happen!?"

"Stop it the both of you!" Murdoc yelled. "Sweet mother of Satan, both of you just shut up! What's done is done, all we can do is stop the two of you from going to jail. Alright? So cover your fucking bruises, and keep shtump," 

Russel went back to hugging his sore abdomen, as Noodle took out her concealer, and gently tried to cover any sign of injury. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter, and sorry for the wait, and sorry for anyone whose waiting on 2D - I can guarrentee him being introduced in Chap 5

The trio bunked out in the abandoned music studio, for four hours - the time agonizingly slow with nothing for them to do. Russel paced, tried not to panic, tried not to scream bloody murder at Murdoc, tried not to lose his fucking marbles. Murdoc rummaged through the studio's kitchen, finding nothing but mold that might have formally been food, before fucking off to explore. Though, that might just be because he didn't fancy being in one room with a fuming Russel. Noodle sat down on a couch, rubbing her hands together. 

Finally, Russel sat down next to her. "So..." He said. "Are you... okay?" 

"Shock is wearing off," Noodle said, looking down at her hands. "You?" 

Russel nodded. He didn't really believe his shock was wearing off though. This didn't feel real, but at the same time, it felt all too real. Like he was watching someone in a film, with his face, his eyes, his friend who had just murdered someone. 

No. It was an accident. Noodle was not a murderer, she's Noodle. 

"Russu," Noodle said. "How old are you?" 

Russel frowned. "Um. I'm twenty. Why?" 

Noodle's eyes turned up in sympathy. "I'm sorry. You act like you are much older. Very strong and mature. I'm very sorry you had to... go through something like this again," 

Russel furrowed his eyebrows at her. 

"I know... how possession work," Noodle explained. "Del... you were there, when he died?" 

Russel slowly lowered his gaze to the ground. "Yeah. Yeah I was there. It was a drive by shooting. We weren't doing anything wrong, we were just sitting outside a Seven Eleven, and these guys drove past us and-" Russel stopped himself. "... Del, he was my best friend. Thick as thieves, we were. But he wasn't the only one there," 

Noodle waited patiently for him to continue. 

"There was like, a group of us, five of us. And, we were all in a band. I was the only who got out of the shooting alive," Russel sighed, and leaned his head back to rest on the back of the couch, eyes staring at the ceiling. "I don't know why Del is the only one who can come out, and talk to me. But the others are there, I know it. I feel it when I play. It's like, they come to life inside of me, and we're back in Ronnie's tree house, drinking shitty beer and thinking, 'watch out world, here comes The Boys'," Russel fished though his pocket, taking out a cigarette. "I don't normally play with other people, because when I play alone, I get to focus on them. I get to pretend that, it was all a dream, and they're still beside me. Playing with other people? It's too much," 

Russel didn't so much see Del's hand resting on his shoulder, as he saw the ghostly blue aura emanating from the hand on his shoulder. Russel looked up into Del's sad eyes. "You know the boys want you to be happy though, right?" Del said. "You can't hear them but I can. We just want you to keep going, Russ. Ain't that right boys?" 

Russel felt a twinge in his heart. A harsh, painful squeeze. They can't talk to him, but they're there. Tears welled up in his eyes. 

"So the rumours are true, ay?" Murdoc said, picking his teeth as he came back to the living room. "This place is haunted," 

Del started making garbled noises and waving his hands, attempting to spook the man away. 

"Fuck off," Murdoc said, and Del dropped his hands. 

"Am I just not scary?" 

"Do you want to be?" Russel retorted. Murdoc sat down on the coffee table across from Russel. "So you've seen ghosts before too?" 

Murdoc tapped the upside down cross hanging on his chest. "Hazard of the worship. Now, let's get down to the important things. What you're going to say to the police when we come back from our scouting trip," 

Del held up a finger. "Okay, I have been asleep for far too long," 

Amazingly, and by the skin of their teeth, Murdoc's plan worked. They brought the three of them into the station for questioning, but since the three stories lined up, and there was a lack of evidence, the trio were released. Paula screamed bloody murder at them when she found Russel, asking why his phone was off, where he'd been and how scared she was. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. 

Russel stiffly wrapped his arms around her. He had to pretend he didn't know. 

Paula pulled away, wiping away her tears. Her eyes widened in fear when she looked behind Russel. "Uh... Murdoc? What are you doing here?" 

"Ah, well, we thought we should surprise you," Murdoc grinned, draping an arm over Russel and Noodle's shoulders. "You told me how good your roommates were at playing, I thought it would be a good idea to get together and see how good we really are. And we decided to form a band," 

"Oh," Paula said, trying to hide her unease. "Really? That's... cool," 

"Mr. Nicchals?" One of the officers who had brought them in called. Murdoc turned with a happy grin. 

"Why yes?" 

"Considering the Hobbs residence is now an active crime scene, will you be able to let them stay at yours?" 

Murdoc didn't let his grin falter. "Of course," He said thinly. 

Oh this is going to be tense, Noodle thought. 

Murdoc lived in a small, three bedroom bungalow with his grandmother. Not something anybody really expected from someone like Murdoc, but he actually, really, genuinely cared about his grandmother. She was such a sweet woman, praising Murdoc for any tiny thing he did. 

She was, uh, a little on the conservative side, however, and very much assumed that, if four unmarried people are under one roof, then the men will be in one room, and the women in the other. 

Murdoc quietly slipped out, to "Get some food", but when he came back, he had a bandage over his nose. He claimed he'd got beaten by some muggers and taken a trip to the hospital. 

Paula tried not to faun over him too much, while Noodle and Russel felt bad he had gone so long with a broken nose to keep up their alibi. 

Russel didn't complain when Murdoc made a makeshift bed on the floor of his room for Russel to sleep on. Noodle slept with her hands behind her back to help resist the urge to throttle Paula. 

Paula had a fitful sleep, anxious over Murdoc and Russel sleeping in the same room. And that they had been playing together for who knows how long. They had been talking to each other, they had been making deals, how had they not found out that Paula was dating them both?

... Exactly. It's incredibly unlikely that they were both still in the dark. Especially since neither of them were being affectionate towards her. 

So what they hell were they playing at?

The next day, Paula asked them to play something for her. 

"What do you mean?" Murdoc asked, the bruises on his eyes now beginning to show. 

"Well you's said you were a band, yeah?" Paula said. "And you've been keeping it a secret from me for who knows how long - I just want to see how far you all are," 

Noodle slowly chewed her toast, having gotten up early to apply fresh makeup on her large cheek bruise before Paula had seen her. 

Russel looked at Murdoc. 

"I can't think of a reason not to," Murdoc cringed. 

Noodle and Russel had to admit, they were quite impressed with Murdoc's shop. A little full of himself, and he had posters of himself from previous bands littering the walls, but the instruments were of high quality. Guitars, drums, trumpets, saxophones, flutes, violins, and a whole host of other instruments lined the walls, along with cases of replacement pieces. 

"Drink it in," Murdoc said smugly. "I can see the awe in your faces," 

Russel's face immediately dropped, but Noodle continued to look around curiously. "I'm very impressed. I have only ever seen an Ibanez once before," She said, staring in envy at the three Ibanez guitar's displayed beside one another. Russel shot Noodle a betrayed glare, but Noodle simply shrugged. 

"I think we need a bit more practice before moving onto those sweetie," Murdoc said, giving her a wink that was a lot less flirtatious than his first one. 

She didn't blame him for not wanting her to use them. They were priced at five thousand pounds each.

Murdoc led them down into his personal studio, which again, was of a higher standard then Russel's. The rooms were sound proofed, and there were two black leather couches snuggled into the corner of the room. Small round tables were sat on either side of the couches, with a martini glass stood on one table, as well as many rings from a lack of beermats. 

Paula sat down on one of the couches, stealing glances at the mini fridge while Murdoc and Russel set up a drum set. With a glass door, the drinks were on full display.

Guitar in hand, Noodle sat on the other couch. "So. You have been here many times?" Noodle asked. 

"What?" Paula snapped. 

"From lessons," Noodle smiled thinly. 

"Oh," Paula chuckled. "Yeah, yeah I've been 'ere a few times. How did you meet Murdoc?" 

Noodle shrugged. "You spoke so highry of him, we wanted to see him for ourself. He like our music, and we like him," Noodle cocked her head and smiled, baring her teeth. "I am sorry we did not tell you. I guess it was mean of us, to sneak around behind your back," 

Paula shifted uncomfortably in her seat, before letting out a weak chuckle. "Can't all be saints,"

Noodle continued to give Paula a fake smile. 

Russel sat down at the drum set, picking up the sticks only for Murdoc to grab his arm. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Paula couldn't hear him, before leaning down and whispering "I know you're quite angry at me right now, but please, don't wreck my drum kit," 

"Hadn't crossed my mind until you mentioned it," Russel smiled back at him. Murdoc glowered and drew back. 

"Right well, let's give Paula here a little show, ey?" 

Paula snuggled comfortingly on the couch and Noodle stood across from Murdoc to give some semblance of an actual band performance. 

"Wonderwall?" Murdoc suggested, shifting his pick in his fingers. 

"Wonderwall?" Paula scoffed. "Bloody Wonderwall, everyone knows Wonderwall. I know how to bloody play Wonderwall!" She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Play me something fun," 

Murdoc hesitated, then smiled. "We haven't really been practicing that long, y'know. It's not like we have any-" 

Murdoc was interrupted by Noodle gently strumming a tune on her guitar. He looked at her, her eyes trained on the strings as she moved her finger along the neck. 

It was a tune that Russel recognised. Noodle had played it a few times for him, and he'd played along with her. It wasn't so much a song they had been creating together, it was just the one they usually played when they were just faffing around. 

Still, Russel's drums easily added onto the melodic tune, like butter. Murdoc watched the two for a moment, chewing the inside of his cheek. Since it was Noodle's tune, her song she had been playing for years, she didn't need to concentrate, and instead, watched Murdoc in turn. 

He was studying them. He was intrigued. He was learning how they played. Neither of them had expected him to join in, but he did. It was a little awkward, at first, as Murdoc was changing chords, trying to find just the right one, was still trying to find just the right pace.

Yet, despite being ever so slightly off key, despite the beats and rhythms being slightly out of sync, it didn't sound bad. It just sounded like a song that needed practice. It sound like _potential_. 

Del hummed along inside of Russel's head, and Russel soon stopped paying attention to anything else. He felt his head swimming with energy, felt like his body was lighter than it was, felt like he was full of air. He couldn't hear their voices. But this was good enough. 

They had completely forgotten about Paula, who was fuming. She had sat there for about ten minutes, listening to the same tune banging on. She had hoped to catch them out, but they actually managed to sound in sync. 

"Who sings?" Paula asked. 

"Ay?" Murdoc said.

"Who sings?" She said. "How do you expect to form a band without a singa'?" 

"Still looking," Noodle said simply. 

"Are you tellin' me, that you went out scoutin' for a studio to buy, and you haven't gotten a singa' yet?" Paula said. "Are you lot lyin' to me?" 

Noodle turned her head away, knowing if she looked at Paula for a moment longer, her urge to strangle her will take over. Russel swallowed thickly, dropping his arms by his sides. "You're kidding me right?" 

Paula furrowed her brow, and Murdoc quickly placed his bass down on the guitar stand. "Whelp, I'm going to let you two have a much needed chat," He nodded for Noodle to follow him out of the studio, and Noodle was only too pleased to follow. 

Murdoc strode straight out the shop door, standing by the open door frame. Noodle stole a glance back at the studio, before stepping out to the front with Murdoc. She was greeted by a packet of cigarettes pointed in her direction. She took one, and Murdoc lit them both up. 

"Where'd you learn that song?" Murdoc asked. 

"My own song," Noodle replied, the cigarette perched between her fingers. "I play it long time now. Where you learn to play your one?" 

Murdoc shrugged. "Made it up then and there. Threw me for a loop, you did, when you started playing something I didn't know," 

"Russu and I play it sometime," Noodle said. "And you uh, you fit the song well. It is more um... powerful," 

Murdoc nodded, not looking at her. Noodle folded her arms, careful to keep the cigarette poised away from her blue fur coat. She stole a quick glance at the posters inside. "You play in band before?" 

"I play in many band before," Murdoc laughed. "All of them shit," 

"You have poster?" 

"Indie artists and musicians usually run in the same circles," Murdoc shrugged. "All meet in school, y'know? Similar tastes in stuff, so they stick by one another and do favors for each other and such. That one," He pointed at a particular poster, that was highly stylized, blocky, painted figures as opposed to a photo of the musicians, on an exploded background. "Her name was Liz, Lizzy Mcsomtheing-or-other. Full o' piercings, that one, tattoo artist now I think. She made that for us, what, eight years ago now? She was dating the lead singer at the time," 

"It looks very professional," Noodle commented. 

"Oh yeah, Liz? Heh, she was one of the few sods I'd ever met who I actually saw potential in, y'know?" 

"I take it bands never last?" 

Murdoc shook his head. "Aw nah, never. Most people I wanted to work with had skill, they did, but they never bloody practiced. They wanted the rock star life handed to them, and they usually fell out with one another over 'creative differences'," He scoffed, taking a particularly long drag. 

"I see," Noodle smiled coyly. Murdoc looked at her in offence he blew out the smoke to fill between them. He looked away. 

"Alright, there were a couple of personal issue's, but I guarantee they weren't all like that," Murdoc said, and Noodle chuckled in reply. 

"I have never been in band before," Noodle said. "But I have always wanted to. Really love to play songs, and sometime, friends will play too. I want to share the music," Noodle flicked off excess ash. "I think we are, how do I say? Um, meant to play," 

"You want me to join a band with you two?" Murdoc raised his eyebrow in amusement. "You wanna know what the crazy fucking thing is? I'm bloody tempted. I mean, we managed to sound like that with only a bit of cobbled together panic, imagine if we actually fucking tried working together," Murdoc drew in the last of his cigarette and dropped it on the ground. "We'd fucking blow the world away," 

"I think you are too ambitious, Muudoku," Noodle smiled. "But I think it will be good, to keep you around, eh?"

"You have to, don't you?" Murdoc said. "Remember luv, you still owe me a favor," 

They were interrupted by Paula ripping open the studio doors, tears streaming down her face. She spotted Murdoc, and glanced at Noodle. "Can I talk to you, in private, for a minute?" 

"Why?" Murdoc said in a bored tone.

Paula drew up close to him. "I need a place to stay, for the night?" 

"Ain't you got a sister?" 

"Yeah, in bloody Cardiff!"

"S'pose you should give her a ring," 

"Ain't you got a spare room?"

"Nah," Murdoc shrugged, and Noodle turned her head away to hide her snicker. 

Paula took a moment to stare at Murdoc, and Murdoc briefly wondered if her constant changing expression was a conscious decision or not. "I can't believe you! I don't bloody believe you," 

"Oh I'm sorry luv, do you think I'm lyin'?" Murdoc retorted. Paula let out a frustrated growl before stomping away. 

Noodle waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Murdoc. "That was a little mean," 

"Then why are you laughing?" Murdoc smirked, stepping back inside his shop. 

Russel gently closed the studio door behind him. Noodle gave him an encouraging smile. 

"I hope neither of ya broke my things," Murdoc joked, but only got a huff in reply from Russel. 

"We should go back to apartment," Noodle said. "We will probably need to clean up some things," 

Murdoc had to drive them back to his own house, so they could pick up their car. Before Noodle climbed out, Murdoc told her "If you can make sure he won't brake my nose again, then I'm in,". 

So, Russel drove, and Noodle fiddled with her own fingers. She noticed the way that Russel's jaw was clenched, the way he held his arm rigid on the steering wheel. 

"Do you... want to talk?" Noodle asked. 

Russel shook his head. 

Blue formed in the backseat of the car. "Yes he does," 

"Fuck off Del," Russel said. 

"These days has been a lot," Noodle said. "Even if you are just sinking out loud-"

"I just want to forget it," Russel said. "Everything. It never happened," 

Noodle looked back at Del, who shrugged sadly. Noodle chewed the inside of her cheek. 

"I got a job," She said. 

"When?"

"Yesterday," She replied. "Before I come home. At a noodle cart," 

"A noodle cart?" Russel said, his lip twitching. "Noodle? You are are working at a noodle cart?" 

"Yes," Noodle smiled. "I know, it is funny," 

Russel licked his lips. "N-Noodle... what's your real name?" 

"Hm?" 

"Your real name?" Russel said. "It's not Noodle," 

"Yes it is,"

"For real?" Russel said. 

"Nah, she's playin'," Del laughed. 

"No no, Noodle is real name," Noodle said. "It is uh... cute, and not normal," 

"Well whoever named you certainly achieved that," Del said. 

Noodle didn't reply. 

"You wanna form a band with me and Murdoc, right?"

"What make you say that?" 

"Coz you've been itching to get a band going since the day I met you," Russel replied with a small smile. 

"You don't want it though," Noodle said. 

Russel sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I've... been thinking about it," 

Noodle noticed the way Del excitedly rubbed his hands together. 

"Just... does it have to be him?" Russel said. They reached their apartment block, Russel driving down to the underground carpark. "I know he's good. And I know you had fun-"

"You had fun too, no?" Noodle replied. 

"I mean..." Russel hesitated. 

It had been a while, since he'd really gotten caught up in playing with others. Alone, he was able to really feel just, everything. But playing with Murdoc and Noodle just felt... natural. 

"Murdoc is just an asshole," Russel said, parking the car, and Noodle smiled. 

"Yes, maybe. I think that, he is hurt, though," Noodle said. 

"Yeah. Probably shouldn't have punched him," 

"No, I mean Paula," Noodle said. "He may talk all, big, and like, like that he does not care, but Paula lied to him too. I know many man like Murdoc. He is only asshole, because he sink everyone else is too," 

Russel gave a hum in thought. "Still don't like him," Russel said, getting out of the car. 

They were shocked to find their landlord nailing a notice to the front of their door. "Hey, hey, Michael what's going on?" Russel asked. 

"You have not paid your rent in three months, that's what," Michael replied, tapping the eviction notice. 

"What? No Paula was taking care of it," Russel said. 

"I don't know what she told you, but I haven't been getting anything," Michael said. "And don't act like you can pay it now, after those lads came to trash the place! Even if you did have the money, you're endangering the other tenants. You've got a week," Michael brushed past them and strode away. 

The eviction sort of came as a blessing in disguise, really. As Russel was packing up his things, he'd just felt uneasy in the apartment. 

A black trash bag was tapped over the smashed window, to prevent a draft, though there may as well have been a white chalk outline drawn on it. A constant reminder of what had happened. The looming presence of John-boy, even after death, in a matter that even put Del on edge. 

So much for forgetting what happened.

Russel and Noodle left the next morning with a reporter standing outside the apartment block, reporting on the arrest of a Dermot Kinney, for the manslaughter of John Sinnott. They didn't stick around long enough to hear the details. They were told by police that they would remain anonymous, as would their apartment number. The media might not be as forgiving, though. 

A few of Russel's friends stopped by the shop, to talk to him about the attack in his building. They of course didn't know that is was them who were attacked, and Russel wanted to keep it that way, but he appreciated their concern. 

Pierce and Korine, an engaged couple who Noodle was very fond of, offered to help in the store if needed. 

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary. Noodle's all the help I need," 

Noodle beamed a huge grin at them. 

"There is one thing though," Russel said. "I'm sorry to ask you this-" 

"Hey, don't be sorry to ask us anything," Pierce said, draping his arm over Korine's shoulder. Pierce was a tall, strong man, had a sharp jaw, neatly groomed beard and short dreads, while Korine was short, round, with long curly hair. "You know we're happy to help you in any way we can," 

"We've been evicted," Russel said. "Our landlord gave us a week to get out,"

"You will always have a place with us, don't worry," Korine said. "You too Noodle," 

"Sank you," Noodle said. "I will pay for anything that-" 

"Nah nah nah," Pierce held up his hand. "Keep your money to yourself, Noodle, you need it more than we do. Can't accept money off a friend in need," 

"What about Paula?" Korine asked. 

Noodle hung her head, something Pierce and Korine both noticed. 

"She cheated on me," Russel said. "She's gone to live with her sister," 

"Shit man," Pierce said. "I'm so sorry," 

Russel shrugged. "It's okay," Pierce and Korine shared a look, and Russel sighed. "You're going to tell me all the things you didn't like about her?" 

"What, no?" Pierce said, voice shrill, and Russel gave him a disbelieving look. 

"We just think that, well," Korine shrugged. "You were _way_ too good for her," 

"I say that too," Noodle nodded, jumping when her cheery phone ringtone suddenly sang in her pocket. "Oh, it's Muudoku," 

"Muudoku?" Pierce asked, directing it at Russel as Noodle answered the phone. 

"Uh, long story short, he's our bassist?" Russel said. 

Pierce's eyes narrowed, and Korine pursed her lips to form an 'o'. 

"Did you just-" Pierce stopped himself. 

"Am I hearing you right?" Korine said. "Bassist as in... part of a band, bassist?" 

Russel shrugged. "Um. Yeah," 

"What happened to 'I only play alone'," Pierce said, his impression of Russel sounding more like a batman voice. 

"What can I say, Noodle has a way of getting under my skin," Russel said. 

"I do that," Noodle said with a grin. "Hm? Oh, yeah that was Russu... yah, I promise he will not hit you," 

Pierce and Korine looked at Russel. "I may have punched him in the face," 

"I'm going to assume he deserved it," Pierce laughed. 

Noodle covered the phone with her hand. "He did," 

"So how long has the band been a thing?" Pierce asked. 

"Um..." Russel looked skyward in thought. "Since last night?" 

Korine immediately burst out in laughter. "Oh Russ I love you, you know that? Oh man I never had something catch me so off guard before," She gasped and wiped away a tear. "Please tell me you're joking?" 

Russel gently shook his head. 

"For real?" Pierce said. "Have you even heard the guy play?" 

"Yeah, we played together, the three of us," Russel said. "I mean... it was just once, but whats the harm in seeing where it goes?" 

"Russu?" Noodle called. "Muudoku wants to come over here, to talk about things," 

Russel shrugged. "Yeah sure,"

"Waiiiiiiit," Korine said. "Do you mean Murdoc? Murdoc Nicchals?" 

"You know him?" Russel said. 

"Heard of him," Korine said. "Bit weird apparently," 

Russel tightened his lips and nodded, causing Korine to laugh again. Noodle said her goodbyes, and hung up the phone. 

"What does he want to talk about?" Russel asked. 

"Um," Noodle hummed. "He didn't say. Just uh, about music I guess," 

"Oh, babe we have reservations," Korine tapped Pierce's chest. 

"Oh yeah yeah yeah, sorry Russ, we gotta go,"

"Yeah of course, and thanks again for letting us stay," 

"Just let us know when you're all packed," Korine waved as the two left the shop. 

Noodle placed her hands on the counter, and looked Russel dead in the eye. "Muudoku wants to talk about Cirian," 

"Cillian? What why?" Russel said. "He's not going back on the alibi is he?"

"Nonono," Noodle waved the notion off. "No, he is sink that Cirian will come back. With uh, one of his people in jail, for what I did, he will be angry, and will come back. Not soon, though, and he want to come talk to us about how to stop it," 

"Okay," Russel nodded. "Okay yeah, why would he come back right away, nah that's too risky, right?" 

"Right," Noodle said. "And he not know that we don't live at apartment no more," 

Russel's cursed and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"I know y'all are tryna be safe," Del whisked out of Russel's head. "But we can't but Pierce and Korine in that sorta danger," 

"Where else will we go?" Noodle said. "We only stay short while, find new apartment quick,"

"We can't," Russel said. "We owe too much money to Michael, and the likelihood of of us finding another apartment this close to town, that we can afford? On our wages?" 

"Well then what do you sink we should do?" Noodle said. 

Russel opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, searching for the words, but none came. Finally he threw his hands into the air. "Let's just wait until Murdoc gets here. He's probably got something up his sleeve," 

They didn't have to wait long for Murdoc to show up, donned in a black turtleneck and matching skinny jeans, a cigerrette hanging from his lips and hand on his hips in an attempt to look suave, though the giant brace over his nose and purple eyes ruined that effect. 

Russel, who was still sitting behind the counter, curled his lip at Murdoc. "Don't smoke in here. Now, what did you want to talk about?" 

Murdoc pulled the cigarrette from his lips with a smile. "The answer to your fucking prayers," 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you he'd be here

"You are fucking crazy," Russel said. "I am not setting fire to shop," 

"Will you even let me finish?"

"You have more!?" Russel said. 

"We just barely get away from police for murder, now you want insurance fraud?" Noodle said, trying not to smile at having said 'insurance' correctly. 

"Nothing's going to bloody happen to you, coz we're going to blame it on Cillian, aren't we?" Murdoc said. "He's not out for money this time y'know. You locked up his muscle guy. You killed one of his brothers, he's out for-"

"John and Cirian were brothers?" Noodle asked. 

"Not-" Murdoc gave her a weird look. "Not like, actual brothers, it's just, it's just a saying. You killed his mate. They don't give a fuck about money no more, and they're only gonna get a slap on the wrist for breaking and entering. They know how to worm their way out of these things. They want your heads on a fucking plate. So," Murdoc leaned down close, forcing Noodle to lean down close to him as well. "He knows where this shop is, don't he? If you can lead him down here, have evidence, that he was here, then when the place goes up in flames, we can pin it on him and make sure he gets locked up for a good long while. Won't be able to wiggle out of that one," 

"No," Russel said. "I can't destroy my only source of income, especially not when we're being thrown out," 

"You're being thrown out?" Murdoc said. 

"Have not paid rent, aparently," Noodle said. "Paula was supposed to look after it," 

"How could she pay the rent if she didn't have a job?" Murdoc said. 

"What? Yes she did, she works at as a waitress in Blue Moon," 

"She told me she was fired from that," Murdoc said. 

"She was?" Russel said. He swallowed thickly, pulling his hands from the counter top and rubbing them along his legs. "Fuck," 

"Well if you're 'aving money issues, then thats even more reason to do this," Murdoc said. "How much is this place insured for?" 

"Not enough," Russel said. "It's not just the money we're being thrown out for, it was the attack too. We can't just pay our overdue rent and come back, we have to find a new place, close to town, two bedrooms, pay for security deposit, more than likely an advancement on rent too. I can't do that if I don't have my shop now, can I?" 

"I think you've just got a personal attatchement to this place," Murdoc said. 

"And that's bad?" Noodle replied. "Of course we do," 

"I'm just saying, a shop this close to town, pretty decent size interior and include the storage room, I'd put it at... Thirty thousand? Sound about right?" 

Russel cocked his head with a glare. 

"Compputer's gotta be worth a few hundred, CD's I'd wager are, about fifteen grand total? CD players, old walkman's and ipods are another twenty, headphones would be less than five, and your records? Oh they're the gold mine aren't they?" Murdoc grinned. "They're up to thirty, roughly, ey? Security cameras out front, and with the other bits and bobs you've got around, the place is worth... hundred and thirty? Fifty maybe?" 

"One hundred and fifty thousand pound?" Noodle gasped, looking at Russel. 

"Oi, don't you dare join his side!" Russel pointed a finger at Noodle. "Why don't you torch your own fucking shop if you want that money so bad!?" 

"Coz Cillian ain't after me!" Murdoc said. "If you do this, you'll get Cillian off your back, and money in your pocket," 

"And if it goes wrong, Cillian will be on the warpath, my friends will be in danger, and I'll be locked up for insurance fraud!" Russel said. "Even then, a hundred and fifty grand will only get me a place for two months, tops," 

"Can I say something?" Del popped up from behind Russel. 

"Yes, please!" Russel said. "Someone with some sense," 

"Murdoc, that studio?" Del said. "Who owns it?"

Murdoc shrugged. "Dunno, it was abandoned. Was gonna look into it if the cops wanted to ask us more questions but the ones round here are a bit dozy," 

Del nodded. "Alright. Torch the shop,"

"What?" Russel said. 

"You don't have to get a new apartment," Del said. "Squatters Rights? If you live in an abandoned house for, what is it, five years? It's yours?" 

"Eh?" Noodle said. "I haven't heard of this?" 

"It's called Adverse Possession, and it's twelve years," Murdoc said. "And there's a whole list of bloody things you need to be careful of if you want to do it," 

"Oh yeah, using the money I get from my fire, caused by the guy who trashed my apartment, to live in a studio that we were scouting the day he attacked? Not suspicious at all," Russel shook his head. 

"You're not gonna tell the bloody cops you're going to be living in Kong, are you!?" Murdoc hissed. "The less they know the better. Don't even tell them you're living at a mates," 

"One hundred and fifty will be plenty of money if we not have to pay rent too," Noodle shrugged. 

Russel looked from Murdoc, to Noodle, to Del, and back again. "Oh come on, please tell me you're not serious!" 

"You don't have to do anything, Russu," Noodle said softly. "I will set everything up. You just stay with Pierce and Korine. They will give you alibi," 

"Nah, best I do it," Murdoc said. "You're going to need and alibi as well, luv," 

"I can't believe you're making me do this!" Russel said, burying his head in his hands. 

"Russu, if you say no, then I will not do it," Noodle said, and Russel looked up at her. "I will never force you to do anything. If you say, right now, not to go through with it, then that is enough for me," 

Russel stared at her for a long time, feeling as if his mind was tearing itself apart. Her makeup was begining to smudge from the long day, the dark, purple mark on her cheek becoming visible. Russel sighed and stood up. "We need to pack the rest of things," 

Murdoc waited a half an hour after they closed up the shop. He didn't know Cillian, personally. He'd been around lowlives like him long to enough to hear about him. A few inconspicuous phone calls, and he'd managed to get in contact with Cormac, a friend of Cillian's. Little bit of sleazy charm, managed to convince the guy that he could lay some real terror on them through Russel's shop. A little vandilasing. Not enough to attract attention, but enough to scare them. 

Told them the security camera's were off, which they word. Of course, Cillian wasn't going to just take Murdoc's word for it, but that's fine. The camera's were off for Murdoc's protection, not his. 

Murdoc sat in his car, across the street, a coffee in hand, and phone open on his lap. Cillian drew up at the front door of the shop. Murdoc pressed record on his phone camera. Cillian stepped inside the shop, the door left open for him. After a few seconds, Murdoc stopped the recording, and waited for Cillian to come out. Cillian took out his phone, and Murdoc's rang in his hand. 

"'Ello?" 

"Where the fuck are you?" Cillian snapped. "You said you'd be inside, you said you'd help me out," 

"Fuck yeah, sorry mate I can't make it," Murdoc put his coffee to his lips. 

"What the fuck do you mean you can't make it?" Cillian hissed. "Don't call me mate, you haven't fucking earned that yet,"

"Got it," Murdoc said. "But listen, I do have a plan for ya. A good'n. I just got called to meet Hobbs' bird. I can't just ditch her, it'll look too bad," 

"Do you know what? Fuck off, stop wasting my fucking time!" Cillian snapped and hung up. Murdoc waited until he finished his coffee before driving to the back of the shop, and taking our the can of alcohol he'd fetched while waiting for Cillian to show up. 

He whistled as he poured the liquid over the CD's, the walls, the floor, his heart aching at the thought of losing the records, but it was a neccessary sacrifice. He lit a match, lit his own cigarette and then dropped it on the vodka. He could've used petrol, but that would have exploded. No, he just needs a flame to start it. 

Driving back a few blocks, Murdoc let his cigarette hang from his lips, and called the police. 

Pierce and Korine had a lovely home. They only had one spare room, which they made no secret was planned for a future child, but Russel and Noodle didn't mind sharing. Noodle made an off comment of having slept in much worse places. Russel, understandably, was not very friendly towards Noodle. She felt awful about the shop. Afterall, it was where everything started. It's where they played together. She knew it ment a lot more to Russel, but she was allowed to mourn over it too. 

Pierce and Korine did their best to be as comforting and helpful as possible when Russel recieved a call from the police, about the shop. He was asked to go down to the station, where Pierce and Korine provided the alibi's. He'd met Murdoc there, but refused to look at him. 

The next week was filled with Russel filling out paper work, Noodle running her ramen cart, and Murdoc doing who the fuck knows. Girls, probably. Russel informed Pierce and Korine that he'd found a place for him and Noodle to stay, and that they'd be moving out as soon as the insurance check was cleared. 

Kong studios somehow felt even colder than the first time they'd been there. There was no electricity, no heating, no internet. Russel couldn't help but feel depressed as he moved his stuff in. 

"I sink we should pick our rooms," Noodle said, wheeling in her suitcase. "Very close to sitting room. There is open fire, see? I know how to make fire, do you?" 

"Yeah," 

"We should get stuff for fire. And then tomorrow we can buy things to clean, and we will get to work to make house beautiful! And food too, we should buy food," She smiled and looked at Russel, who dropped a large, cardboard box onto the hallway. 

"Yeah," Russel turned back to fetch more things. Noodle's smile dropped, and she chewed the inside of her cheek. 

"Um," Noodle rushed back outside to grab another suitcase. "I will cook tonight, if you want. Not noodles though, I'm sick of making them," 

Russel's lip quirked slightly at the joke, but other than that, made no acknowledgement. Noodle pulled out her suitcase, and Russel picked up another cardboard box. They dropped their things in the hallway. 

"What about... pasta?" 

"Not that different noodles, is it?" Russel said. 

Noodle smiled. "Russu, I'm so sorry-" 

She was cut off by Russel pulling her into a hug. "It's not your fault," Russel said. "None of it. It's not your fault. It was an accident," 

Noodle wrapped her arms around Russel. He was telling himself this more than anything, but if it helped, then Noodle was glad he could get it off his chest. He pulled away, and let out a deep breath. "How about, we get everything in, then you get as many blankets as you can find, and candles, and I'll go get a takeaway," 

"Chinese," 

"I feel like that's a betrayl of your country," 

"What? It's good food," Noodle laughed. 

In the fifteen bedrooms of Kong studios, ten of them had blankets. Eight of them smelt relatively fine. There were a couple of linen closets, though the sheets they held were mustier than the ones in the bedrooms. Noodle knew she had her work cut out for her for the next day. 

Still, Noodle laid out the blankets in the sitting room, between the couches and the fireplace. Resisting the urge to build a blanket fort, she found a small shack out the back garden where the previous owners stored their coal, though only dust and spiders were left. She found wooden chair in one of the studio rooms that had been broken to pieces, somehow, as well as drawing that had faded to nothing but smudges. Seems Kong wasn't a music studio. 

Using the papers to start a fire, and the chair for kindle, Noodle managed get a decent fire going by the time Russel came back. 

Their first night in Kong was wholesome, fun, and completely unremarkable. Noodle told Russel some stories about what Japan was like, Del and Russel argued over getting details of their childhood wrong, Del and Noodle sang together. 

Russel completely forgot about everything that had happened. 

It took a few days to get Kong up and running. The first thing to do was to buy a generator for the elecritcity, especially since they weren't planning on paying a bill. Noodle tied her hair up and cleaned out all the rooms, bining anything she deemed unneccessary, and making a list of things they needed to buy. They both swept, mopped, and dusted, until, slowly but surely, Kong was clean. The musty smell was replaced by freshness. The kitchen was now stocked with food, as well as cookng utensils, plates, cutlery. They had picked their bedrooms, and chosen another three to be used as near-future spare rooms, until they got proper heating sorted. For now, the fire place seemed to be relatiely okay. 

All in all, Kong had fifteen bedrooms, ten of them en suites. Aside from the en suites, there were an additional six bathrooms, and ten 'studio' rooms, four recording rooms, as well as an additional five rooms that were completely empty. One room, a large, open room with wood floors, was situated next to an indoor pool (that was empty, of course), so they naturally assumed that it was a gym. 

"Who built this place?" Noodle wondered, leaning on the island counter in the kitchen. Russel, Murdoc and Del were sat on the stools positioned at the island.

"Fucking billionare, no doubt," Del said. 

"A billionare's house is much fancier than this, trust me," Murdoc said. He had come over to visit, to see how they were settling in, though he didn't say as much. When asked 'why are you here?' he simply said 'Coz I am', which, why would you expect anything else. 

Murdoc had been questioned by the police about the fire, as Cillian had told them that Murdoc lured him to the shop. There was a called to an 'unknown number' logged in Cillian's phone, but none such thing was logged in Murdoc's. 

It made Noodle wonder how many _friends_ Murdoc had. 

"Are people really that scared of ghosts that we're the first one's to think about squatting here?" Russel said. 

"From my experience, no one's afraid of ghosts," Del grumbled, and Noodle flashed him a smile. 

"We should do a practice session," Murdoc said, pulling something from his pocket. "Y'know, a proper one. That is, if you guys still want to be in a band?" 

"Honestly, it will probably make me feel normal," Russe said. 

"Also," Noodle smiled coyly. "I have an idea on who our singer should be," 

The boys all looked at Noodle in confusion and anticipation. "Who?"

"Del," 

"Me!?" Del cried, pointing at himself. "Sweetheart, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm dead," 

"So?" 

"Wh- what do you mean 'so'? I can't sing in your band if I'm dead," 

"Says who?" 

"Says the people who will exorcise me if they find out about me," Del said. "I appreciate the confidence vote, but I-I can't, really," 

"You are so good, though," Noodle whined. 

"Hang on, me and Russ ain't agreed to anything yet," Murdoc said. "I haven't even heard you sing," 

"Well, honestly, I think you're a good fit, Del," Russel said. "You were the one who pushed me into joining this band, so at least sing with us first before you make up you're mind about anything," 

"Aye," Murdoc said. "I'd like to hear ya, if they think you're good enough," 

"Alright I'll sing while you play, but that ain't gonna change my mind you know," Del folded his arms. 

Murdoc chuckled and withdrew a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. Noodle swiped his lighter away when he pressed the light. 

"We have spent four days cleaning bad smell out of here! You smoke outside!" Noodle thrust the lighter back at him. Murdoc rolled his eyes and hopped off his stool. 

"And after I saved your bloody lives, again," He strode out of the kitchen to the front door. 

"He's going to hold this 'favour' over our heads for a long time, isn't he?" Russel said. 

"At least he's not asking for two," Noodle said. "His neck is on the line for the fire, too. And I sink that it is good to have someone, uh, clever, like Murdoc, close to us," 

"He doesn't strike me as the kinda guy who manages to keep his friends," Russel said.

"Who said anything about being friends with Murdoc?" Noodle said. 

"Oi!" Murdoc called. "There's a package out here for ya! Bloody Fed Ex bastards didn't ring the doorbell," 

"I didn't buy anything, did you?" Russel said, and Noodle shook her head. 

"Who it say it for?" Noodle called back. 

"No name!" Murdoc said. "No return adress either," 

"Fuck," Russel jumped off his stool. "Murdoc don't open it!" 

"Why," Murdoc said, though he was stood beside the box with no intentions of opening it. The box reached his knee in height, and was roughly the same width. 

"What if it's a bomb?" Russel said, striding down the hall with Del and Noodle in tow. "From Cillian?"

"How the bloody hell is he supposed to get a bomb to us? He don't even know you're here, and he's been banged up for the fire," 

"He could have gotten one of his goons to do it-" He stopped himself at Noodle dropping to her knees and pressing her ear to the box. "What are you-" 

Noodle shushed him, waving her hand at him. After a minute, Noodle frowned. "No wire, not bomb, but I hear something," She pressed her head closer, but after another moment, shook her head. "Don't know what is it, but it's not bomb," 

"Wait, you can hear if there's a wire in there?" Russel asked. 

Noodle nodded, and pulled a swiss army knife from her pocket. She carefully cut the tape along the front, and folded open the cardboard flaps. Murdoc and Russel shared a glance, hanging back but looking on apprehensively. 

"Oh shit," Noodle gasped. 

"What?" Russel said. He was answered by the packing peanuts rustling, and a groan coming from inside the box. 

"Shh shh shh," Noodle cooed, pulling our a couple of bags of the packing peanuts. "It's okay, you're okay," 

Russel leaned over Noodle's shoulder, cursing softly when he saw the young boy curled up inside the box. He had short, spiky blue hair, wore a baggy t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, and was curled tightly from the size of the box. He grimaced and moaned sleepily, revealing his two front teeth to be missing. He opened his eyes and looked at the three (four?) people looking down at him, both of his eyes pure black, and terrified. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! But here's the newest chapter, updates will be slow from now until the late May, at least, as I'm still doing college work

As soon as the kid opened his eyes, he gasped in fear and struggled, toppling the box backwards and knocking the packaging everywhere. He tumbled back into Murdoc's legs. Murdoc jumped away, the kid scrambling backwards on his hands and knees.

"Bloody heavens!" Murdoc said. "That's a bloody kid!" 

"How'd he get in the box?" Del asked. "And what the fuck is up with his eyes?"

The kid looked between the people surrounding him, his chest heaving with heavy pants. Noodle crouched down and made shushing noises. "Hey, hey it's okay, we're not going to hurt you, okay?" 

The kid still stared with wide, black eyes, though his breathing began to slow. Russel crouched down beside Noodle. "Take it easy, yeah? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" 

The kid paused, and shook his head violently. Though his breathing was begining to slow, that only made it easier to see his arms shaking. 

"What's your name?" Noodle asked. "I'm Noodle. This is Russu. You can ignore them," She waved at Del and Murdoc, who gave Noodle offended looks. "What's your name?" 

The kid swallowed thickly, and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. "Um... 2D, I think? I dunno, I can't remember," 

"Oh great, he's a cockney and all," Murdoc said, earning him a dig in the shin from Russel. 

"Okay then, Toochi," Noodle smiled. "Do you remember how you got in the box?"

2D shook his head. 

"Do you know where your Mom and Dad live?" 

2D shook his head. 

Noodle licked her lips. "Whats the last thing you remember doing?"

2D hesitated, his twitching eyelids showing he was looking around, though it was hard to tell what he was looking at. Finally, he shook his head again. 

"How old are you?" Russel asked. 

"Um..." 2D held his hands in front of him and stared. He started to wiggle his fingers, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Eventually, he held both his thumbs down, nodded, and held them aloft. Murdoc's eyes narrowed.

"Eight?" Russel said. 2D nodded. Russel sighed and exchanged a glance with Noodle. 

"Look you gotta take him down to the police," Del said from behind Russel. "Let them deal with this," 

"We're not going to the cops," Murdoc said.

"What, yes we are?" Russel said, standing up to face Murdoc. "Murdoc, he just popped out of a box, we got to bring him to the police so they can find his family!" 

Murdoc leaned down so that he was a nose's breath away from Russel. "I think you're forgetting that you've spent a little bit too much time with the cops recently. They don't know you're stayin' here, and if they ever found out, they're gonna start solving a puzzle that don't need to be solved," 

"This is a child, Murdoc," Noodle said. "Is more important!" 

"We don't bloody need the cops," Murdoc said. "If his parents are looking for him, it'll be on the news. So, what we're gonna do, is we're gonna get him some food because Antichrist knows how long he's been in that box, then we're going to have a little chat," Murdoc turned his head to 2D. "You like beans on toast kid?" 

"Uhh.." 

"Course you do, you're British. Come on," Murdoc strode back towards the kitchen.

Russel sighed, and followed after him, Del not far behind. Noodle turned her attention to 2D.

"Okay. Are you hungry?" 

2D nodded, his hands clasped together. Noodle gently held out a hand. "Well, come on then, we get you something to eat," 

2D took Noodle's hand and she pulled him onto his feet. He was unsteady, and stiff from having curled up for so long. She led him to the kitchen, where Russel was pouring a tin of beans into a pot. Murdoc had his eblow on the counter, resting on it with his legs crossed at the ankles. Del had his arms folded, and was 'leaning' on the fridge. 

"So how the hell are you expecting us to find his parents, or to find out what the hell happened to him, if we don't go to the police?" Russel said, as Noodle hoisted 2D onto a stool. "He doesn't remember anything, he can't even remember his own name," 

"We'll think of something," Murdoc said. "But right now, cops are out of the question, alright? Tomorrow, or the day after, the news will be plastered with his face from his parents looking for him. We can... call em or something, when that happens," 

Russel curled his lip but decided to let it go. He didn't really fancy yet another close call with the police. Noodle slid onto a stool beside 2D, who was looking around at the people who had found them. When Murdoc looked down, he noticed he was being stared at. 

"What are you looking at?" 

"Are you a zombie?" 

Murdoc turned around, placing both his hands on the counter and sneered. "Do I look like a zombie?" 

"Yeah," 2D said, causing Noodle to cover her mouth and snicker. 

"No I'm not fu-flaming zombie," Murdoc said. 

"You should at least take him to the hospital," Del said. "He might have a concusion or something," 

"Are you a zombie?" 2D asked, looking at Del this time. 

Del hesitated. "No. I'm a ghost, though," 

"Ghosts aren't real," 2D smiled, and Del gave him a bewildered look. 

"Hospital is also out of the question," Murdoc said. "They're not gonna believe one of us is his parent, and what are we going to explain to them why we brought him there in the first place?" 

"Korine is nurse, yes?" Noodle said. 

"Oh no, I told you I am not involving Pierce and Korine in this," Russel said. 

"Yeah, look at him, he's fine," Murdoc said. "Aren't you?" 

2D shrugged and nodded with a grin. He was swinging his legs on the chair.

"See? He's happy," 

"Look at his eyes? We don't know what happen to him before he got stuck in crate," Noodle said. "He needs to be checked out by a doctor," 

Russel rubbed the back of his head, before turning to plate the food. "I mean... he does look okay," 

"Russu!" 

"Oh so now you're agreeing with zombie man?" Del said. 

"He called you a zombie too!" Murdoc retorted. 

"Yeah but at least I don't look like one," Del said. 

"Or smell like one," Russel mumbled, sliding the plate of food towards 2D, and Noodle really tried her damnedest to stifle her laughter. Del didn't.

"Oh yeah, very funny, laugh it up the lot o' ya!" Murdoc said. "I'm trying to bloody help you! You'd both be banged up if it weren't for me!" 

Murdoc stole a glance at the kid, struggling to hold his fork right while the other's calmed down from their laughing fit. He was smiling, as he ate, but he kept almost dropping the fork. His arms were covered in bruises, though given he was in a small, cardboard box with little more than some squishy foam for protection, it didn't raise any eyebrows. 

"Just because he looks okay," Noodle said softly. "Doesn't mean he is. There might be some injury that we cannot see," 

Murdoc couldn't help but quirk a small smile at noticing the kid was too engrossed in the food to notice what they were talking about anymore. 

"Why was he sent here?" He said, quietly so that the kid woud continue to not pay attention. The others turned to him. 

"Hm?" Noodle said. 

"Why was he sent here?" Mudoc repeated. "Never mind how he got here. Whoever put him in that box, sent him here, for a reason. Why?" 

"I know no one wants to say..." Noodle said solemnly. "But perhaps this place was not abandoned like we thought, and that maybe... the real owner has a, um, business, with..." She gestured her head to 2D. 

"In a Fed Ex box?" Russel asked. "It's too easy for him to be found, I mean, he wasn't tied up or anything," 

"No one knows you live here," Murdoc said. "So either, the box was meant for the real owner, or it wasn't meant for anybody," 

Del drew up close to Murdoc, Russel and Noodle leaning over too as the coversation grew quiet. "You mean," Del said. "Whoever sent it, what, thought it would never be opened?" 

"Possibly," Murdoc said. "If, y'know, this has nothing to do with the real owner, then... yeah," 

"What, why?" Russel said. 

"The fuck if I know," Murdoc hissed. "But this was the address he was sent to, so it's not an accident he ended up here," 

2D placed the fork on the plate, his tongue trying to clean the mess off of his chin. "Thank you," 

"No problem buddy," Russel said, his heart warming at the kids smile. He reached over the counter to ruffle 2D's hair. 

"Ow," He hissed, and Russel pulled his arm away. 2D rubbed his hand at the back of his head, where Russel's fingers had brushed something sore. 

"2D can you look at the door for me please?" 

2D pouted, but turned his head away. Noodle gently grasped the sides of his head to keep him still. The hair on the back of his head was matted with dried blood. Noodle gently sifted her fingers to find the source of the wound, a large cut on back of his head. Well, not really a cut, per se, it was hard to see through the blackened clumps of hair. Whatever the case, the wound had clotted, and wasn't bleeding. Noodle didn't want to disturb the skin too much, however, in case it did. "Am I bleedin?" 2D asked, his voice shaky. 

"Um, no," Noodle said, letting go of his head so he could look back at her. "No you are not bleeding. But, um. I sink that you were, it stopped bleeding- oh no don't touch it," Noodle grabbed 2D's hand before he could poke his head. "No no no, if you touch it, it will start to bleed," 

"Am I going to die?" 2D said, his mouth twisting into a fearful grimace. 

"No you're not going to die!" Noodle grinned. "Don't be silly, you'll be okay! But, what we're going to do, is, we're going to clean your hair, so I can look at it properly. Is that okay?"

"Will it hurt?" 

"No it won't, I promise," Noodle said, getting off the stool. "Russu, will you boil kettle? I will be right back," Noodle briskly jogged towards her room. 

"If you really want the kid looked at that badly," Murdoc said as Russel put the kettle on. "Then you better get someone who will do it on the downlow," 

"You're disgusting," Russel said. "Oi, what did Noodle say about touching your head?" 

"But it's bleedin'," 2D complained. 

"No it's not, but if you touch it, it will," Russel said, rounding the island. "So just keep your hands to yourself," 

The kid dropped his hands and hung his head, gripping the edge of the stool. Murdoc, again, narrowed his eyes at this. 

"Why am I here?" 2D said, after a moment of silence.

Russel sighed, quickly checking the back of his head before leaning down to be at his eye level. "I don't know. But we're gonna find out, yeah? And we'll take you back to your parents," 

"Do you know my parents?" 

"... no," Russel admitted. "But don't worry, we'll find them," 

Noodle came striding back in, a big smile plastered on her small face. "Now! Let's get you all clean, yeah?" She dropped a conditioner bottle, comb, hand cloth, tweezers and box of cotton buds on the counter. She poured the boiling water into a bowl, and squeezed some for the conditioner into it, using the comb to mix it into a murky white solution. She wet the hand cloth with boiling water, and stepped behind 2D. After gently squeezing some of the matted hair to wet it, she dipped the comb into the conditioner water, and slowly combed through the hair. 

"So, Toochi?" Noodle said. "Why don't you tell us everything you remember?" 

"Um," 2D said, scratching long nails on his tracksuit. "Like, before you opened the box?" 

"Yeah," Noodle said. "Anything at all," 

"Mmmm..." The kid trailed off. After about a minute of silence, the 2D bit his lip. "I'm sorry I don't remember anything," 

"That's alright," Noodle said, dipping the comb in the water bowl to wash it out. Russel couldn't help but grimace at the blood staining the water. 

2D groaned, blinking slowly. "It hurts," He mumbled.

Noodle frowned. "Your head? Is it like, a headache, or like, sore from me brushing?" 

2D hummed in thought. "Headache," He said slowly.

"Do we have anything to give him?" She said softly. 

"Can kids have painkillers?" Russel said. 

"Course you can!" Murdoc said, pushing past Russel to look through kitchen cabinets. Russel leaned down to yank open a drawer at Murdoc's knee. Murdoc shot Russel a small glare, snatching a bottle of Paracetamol from the drawer, and running his finger along the back of it. 

"Here, see?" Murdoc showed Russel what he was pointing at. "'For children aged six to twelve, take one tablet every four hours'," Murdoc slapped the bottle on the table, and 2D flinched. Murdoc didn't apologise for scaring the kid, simply squinted at him again and taking more care when opening up the lid. He filled up a small glass of water and shook out one of the tablets, handing them to 2D. "There ya go kid," 

"Okay, but like..." Del hesitated as 2D stared at the tablet in his fingers. He licked his lips, and mouthed 'What if it's more serious?'. Noodle narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in confusion. 

"If it still hurts in an hour, then we'll worry about it," Murdoc said. Noodle nodded in realisation. 

Noodle turned back to 2D, to see he was still staring at the tablet. "Here," Noodle gently took the tablet from 2D, snapping it in half and putting them back onto his palm. 2D looked up at her, confused, but didn't question it, putting the broken pills in his mouth.

Noodle gently placed her fingers on to 2D's jaw, tilting his head down once he'd swallowed the pills. 

The conditioner water grew darker, and 2D's hair cleaner. Murdoc and Russel stayed by the kitchen, trying not to stare at Noodle or 2D. It wasn't long before his eyes were starting to droop. 

"Hey, ey, don't fall asleep on us, kid," Murdoc said, clicking his fingers to snap 2D awake. 

2D blinked, and yawned. "Why not?" 

"Just..." Murdoc trailed off, turning to Russel. 

"Uhhh..." Russel said. 

"It's not good to fall asleep in chair, silly," Noodle smiled. "Am almost done, Toochi. Russel, we have bandages?" 

"Bandages?" 2D asked fearfully. "Wh-why do I need bandages is it bad?" 

"No," Noodle chuckled, but shot a look to Russel and Murdoc. Her eyes were wide, and she grit her teeth. 

"Yeah, yeah in the bathroom," Russel said, dashing off in down the hall. 

Murdoc and Noodle shared an uneasy look, Noodle placing down the comb and using the hand cloth to gently pat dry the hair. 

Murdoc circled around the counter to draw up beside Noodle to inspect 2D's head. The blood had clotted on the back of his head, so he was no longer bleeding, though the large gash was still visible, shaped similar to a semi-circle. 

Murdoc ran his hands through his hair, taking a few steps back. "Ah, yer fine kid," Murdoc said, managing to keep the shakiness from his voice. 

Russel came running back down the hall, first aid kit in hand. 

"Why do I need a bandage?" 2D asked again, his eyelids struggling to stay open. 

"To stop you from poking it," Noodle said playfully. She set to work bandaging up 2D's head. He meekly complained, giggling, when she feigned accidentally blindfolding him.

Murdoc slowly stalked his way into the living room, Del and Russel following behind. 

"The kids not gonna die, is he?" Del whispered, causing Murdoc to shoo him away with a hiss. 

"He ain't gonna die," Murdoc said. "Jus' keep an eye on him," 

"Is it bad, though?" Russel pressed. "You looked at his head. Is it bad?" 

Murdoc shrugged. "... I've seen worse," 

"On a kid?" Del said. 

Murdoc didn't say anything. 

"Alright that's it," Del hissed. "I don't care what kind of trouble you get into, that kid is injured! He needs help, real help-" 

"He'll be fine," 

"Stop it," Russel said. "Murdoc, don't you dare lie to me. Is. It. Bad?" 

Murdoc shifted on his feet, and sighed in irritation. "It's pretty nasty, but it's not life threatening. Noodle looks like she knows what she's doing. He'll be fine," 

Russel's lips pressed together tightly. 

"Look, if he has a concussion, all we have to do is keep him awake for a few hours," Murdoc said. 

"How long have you been a Doctor, Murdoc?" Russel sneered sarcastically, but Murdoc didn't get a chance to retort, as he saw Noodle approaching, holding 2D's hand in hers. The bandages was keeping his fringe out of his face, like a hairband. 

"Hey kid," Murdoc greeted flatly, glaring at Russel. 

"My head still hurts," He moaned, pressing his cheek against Noodle's hand. 

"You will be better soon, don't worry," Noodle smiled. 

"So?" Russel asked. "What are we supposed to do now?" 

"Distract him, I guess," Murdoc mumbled, shoving his hands in his jeans pocket. "I suppose I'll see you later," 

"Wha- where are you going?" Noodle asked as Murdoc strode past her. 

"I don't live here," Murdoc threw his arms in the air, before giving a sarcastic salute and leaving. 

"Unbelievable," Russel complained, hearing the front door shutting shortly afterward.

2D looked up at Noodle as she sighed. "Is it really that unbelievable?" She said. "For Murdoc?" 

"He is right though, he doesn't live here," Del said. 

"Just whose side are you on?" Russel said.

"I wasn't aware there were any sides, man," Del retorted. 

2D swayed, his eyelids flickering, and Noodle quickly caught him. "Woah, take it easy," She chuckled, steadying his shoulders. 2D yawned at her. 

Noodle licked her lips nervously. "Hey, why don't we do something fun? A game?" 

"What game?" 2D asked, having completely forgotten about his head. 

Noodle hummed dramatically, placing a finger on her chin and looking away thoughtfully. She grinned, and made her way to a cabinet in the sitting room that had managed to live through the clean out. Pulling out sheets of paper that had been stockpiled for the fire, Noodle placed them down on the coffee table, motioning for 2D to sit beside her. "Do you know what Origami is?" 

2D shook his head. 

"It's something every kid in Japan learns," She said, giving 2D some paper. "Watch and follow me, ok?" 

"Ok," 

Noodle slowly taught 2D how to fold the paper into a little bird shape, a struggle, since 2D appeared to have the co-ordination of a newborn. He kept accidentally crushing the paper, tearing it, it got wet as some point, somehow. Russel decided to put on the news, the volume low so as not to disturb the two. He knew the likelihood of 2D being reported missing on the news today was low, his parents are probably only going to the police now. His nails scratched at the armrest of the couch.

He wanted so desperately to just drive down to the police station right now. His parents were probably worried sick about him. What if the kid is sick? Or needs medication for something? Who knows what the hell is up with the kids eyes. At least he's able to see. 

"Is your head still hurt, Toochi?" Noodle asked. 2D looked up at her, and brushed his fingers against his temple, where the bandage was wrapped around his head. 2D shook his head. 

"Well that's good!" Noodle said, rubbing his shoulder. 

"It's a good sign," Del whispered to Russel, who nodded with a weak sigh of relief. 

"Are you really a ghost?" 2D asked. 

Del looked over to the kid, quickly stealing a glance at Russel. "Yeah. Yeah I'm really a ghost," 

2D stared at Del, his jaw slack. "That's cool," He said finally, and played with his Origami. 

Del couldn't help but laugh at him.


End file.
